Family Business
by Eboni
Summary: In a world where nothing is as it seems, Sam and Dean know they can't trust too many people, not even ones who look like family. Nothing can ever be easy for a Winchester, as angels, demons, transgenics, fathers and little brothers risen from the dead knock at their door, everyone there to grab a lawn-chair seat to the coming Judeo-Christian apocalypse. (Set in Season 5 of SPN)
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: I know, I know, I have other projects I need to update. I have not been neglecting them to write this. This is a random plot bunny :D that's been sitting on my laptop for a while. I was on a Dark Angel/Supernatural kick (Jensen Ackles is my man!) and stumbled across Supernatural/Dark Angel crossovers, got addicted, and well... here we are. This is my attempt at a Supernatural/Dark Angel crossover. I am still working on my other writing projects, I just have to finish the manuscript for my second novel first. Sigh... When writing becomes a job... it makes me happy :D**

Disclaimer: I do not own nor did I create the shows Supernatural or Dark Angel, and I have no legal rights to their characters. :( :( :( :( :(

* * *

 **PART I**

Chapter 1

 _Sioux Fall, South Dakota 2009_

"I believe I've found something that belongs to you."

Dean jumped at the sudden sound of Castiel's voice behind him.

"Jesus, Cas! You gotta stop doing that shit!" Dean shouted, whirling around to glare at the angel, then frowning at the body laid out on the couch. "Who the hell's this?"

Dean crept closer, noting how Castiel stood back, seeming to wait for Dean's reaction. Dean braced himself, never able to predict or sometimes even understand some of Cas's surprises. Something that belonged to Dean and was a person, an obviously unconscious person. Dean touched the guy's shoulder. It was warm. The head lolled to one side so that Dean could get a good look... at his own face, when he was about fourteen or fifteen years old.

His breath caught. "Al-Alec?"

In a split second, he was on his knees next to the couch, shaking the unconscious boy's shoulder. Was it—could it be? No response from the kid. Dean looked up at Castiel in askance. "Cas? Is this...?"

"He shares your DNA," Castiel said, his tone flat. "He resembles you. You had a younger brother who was a genetic clone of you, so I figure this to be him."

Dean narrows his eyes at Castiel's tone. The angel wasn't saying something. "Where'd you find him, Cas? Is he okay?" Dean prodded Alec, checking his vitals, feeling his limbs. He couldn't feel any injuries. Castiel was silent.

"Cas?" Dean turned his full attention on the angel.

Castiel met his eyes. "He was participating in a battle against angels. He fought with other enhanced humans of similar age alongside demons."

Dean felt like he'd been punched in the gut. "Demons?" He glanced at Alec, his lost little brother. Running a thumb along Alec's smooth jawline, he remembered the baby Alec had been when he'd seen him last. Ten years old, four-foot-seven, big green eyes, and nothing but attitude and sass. He'd sat at a motel kitchenette table, checking his sickeningly high balance after another one of his lucrative e-bay sales had gone through. Alec had been a shark at making money and charged interest on all the loans he'd given Dean. Dean had told him to be good and that he and Dad would be back in the morning.

And he hadn't lied. He and Dad had been back in the morning, it had been Alec who wasn't.

Taken.

Stolen.

And now, almost five years later, right here.

"What do you mean he was fighting with demons?" Dean barked. "He possessed? He like... like Sam with Ruby?"

"No, to both of your questions," Castiel said.

"Then what?" Dean asked. He ran a hand through Alec's short, sandy hair, still baby soft.

"In league, a soldier," Castiel said. "Seemed to be following orders, very militant and extremely competent. He must have had superb combat training. From what we know of the projects created by Mephistopheles—"

"By who?" Dean asked. "What the hell are talking about, Cas?" Slow rage seeped in through his pores. "What the hell do you know about my little brother that you didn't tell me?"

Castiel frowned at Dean. "You do know who made your brother, correct?"

"A lab, he was made in a lab, by a cult called Manticore," Dean said.

"Manticore is not a cult," Castiel said, eyes boring into Dean's. "It is an organization that specializes in genetic research in hopes of creating the perfect soldier."

Dean bristled, squeezing Alec's shoulder. "The place we lived in, that compound? That was a cult if I ever knew one."

"Dean, you, Sam and your father lived in a sampling community," Castiel said, voice slow, as if afraid Dean wouldn't be able to follow him. "Manticore had many of those. They created control and experimental groups. They studied your behavior and took DNA samples."

"What are you talking about?" Dean felt hot and cold, like he was running a fever, as memories of that place rushed at him full speed. He'd been little, maybe five, when Dad had moved them into two-bedroom trailer home out somewhere in the middle of nowhere. There'd been people, lots of kids and moms. It'd felt like camping all the time. Fun. Dean had had fun. He'd had two birthday parties there. Cake, presents, Sammy singing. And then, one night, Dad packed them up and they'd driven away to live with Pastor Jim.

"Your father learned about demons and hunting there," Castiel said. "You were in the experimental group, exposed to knowledge about the supernatural. I assume there was a doctor in your... encampment?"

Dean blinked, straining to remember. A man in a white coat, always smelled like yellow gummy bears and peppermint. Nice guy. Dad had said... "He gave us Alec."

"He also may have been a demon," Castiel said. "Dean, Mephistopheles is a high-level demon, and a rival of Azazel. He created Manticore, so that he could create the perfect vessels for demons to inhabit, and an army of cannon fodder super humans to control."

"No." Dean shook his head. "No way that guy was some high-level demon. He was..." As far as Dean could remember, pretty nice. And, "why would he give away one of his super soldier babies and give Dad everything he needed to make Alec part of us? Hell, he came up with a birth certificate and everything!"

Castiel stared, face stoic as ever. "I do not think the man who gave your father Alec was Mephistopheles, but he did work for him at one point. I do not know if he was betraying his master or if it was all part of a plan, but the fact remains that your brother works for demons."

Dean stared down at Alec. His little brother's smooth unlined face showed no signs of stress or evil. It was just Alec. Dean narrowed his eyes at Castiel. "And that's okay with you? You gonna leave him here with us?"

"I wanted to question him," Castiel said. "Many of my brethren fell today, but..."

"But?"

"He is your brother," Castiel said. "And you are my friend. I leave the questioning and decisions to you about what happens to him next."

Dean's breath caught as he gazed at his friend. The angel was truly changing, becoming more... well, more human. Warmth coursed through his veins. "Thanks, Cas."

Castiel nodded and vanished, leaving Dean alone with Alec.

He wondered if he should call Bobby and Sam, and tell them to drop the job and come back. Hell, he'd have been with them if he hadn't hurt his shoulder the other day, but the job was something easy. Sam and Bobby were fine without him. But was he okay without them right now was the question. He stroked Alec's hair again, thinking about what he'd say to his baby brother. Would he be brainwashed? Would he remember? Fuck, would he be dangerous? Maybe Dean should be cuffing him or locking him in the panic room.

 _Dammit, Cas._

Dean dug his phone out of his pocket and dialed Sam.

"Come on, Sammy, pick up. I need you back here," Dean grumbled, balancing the phone on his uninjured shoulder as he wandered into Bobby's study to get the lock-down chair ready for a guest. He checked that the devil's trap on the floor was still intact while the phone rang, and sighed, thinking about the day Dad had brought Alec home.

* * *

 _Colorado Springs, Colorado 1994_

Dean's eyes opened before the door did, his hand brushing the knife under his pillow, before he relaxed. His heart still thudded in his chest, the last organ to get the memo that it was 'Just Dad'—Dad coming back from a hunt he wouldn't take Dean on. Dean scowled. He was fourteen years old, old enough to be back-up. He was good, dammit. But Dad still only took him on easy hunts, leaving Dean behind to play babysitter when the hunts got real. But Sammy was old enough to look after himself for a day or so. When Dean was ten, Dad used to leave for days, trusting Dean to look after not only himself but Sammy too.

Dean sat up in bed, watching as Dad tiptoed in, a bundled blanket in his arms. _Stuff he found on the job to analyze? Huh_. Dean crawled out of bed, careful not to wake Sammy. The kid slept like the dead. He gazed over at his little brother sprawled over more than his fair share of the bed, arms and legs everywhere. One day, Dean was gonna tell Dad that he needed to sleep with Sam every once and a while, so that Dean could get a chance at waking up without an elbow in his eye.

"What's that?" Dean whispered as he moved closer to Dad.

Dad frowned at Dean, his face seemed older, and gray. The job must have been really bad. "You okay, Dad?" Dean asked. "You hurt?" He started to head for the bathroom, to grab their first aid kid, but Dad spoke.

"Nah, I'm not hurt. Uh... here." Dad held out the blanket and Dean squinted at it. It was a lump wrapped in a blanket that Dad held like there was something breakable inside.

Dean reached out, grabbing the thing and almost gasping and letting it go when he felt something warm, kind of heavy, and pliant, flopping into his arms. The blanket fell back a bit, and Dean stared into wide green baby eyes. _A freakin' baby!_ "Dad! Wh-what's this? Did..." _Oh no_. _Maybe the parents were dead_.

"She told me she was on the pill," Dad murmured. "I believed her, but..." He ran a shaky hand through his hair. "She wasn't."

Dean felt his eyes widening, the skin around them stretching, as what Dad was muttering set in. "Dad?"

"This is your little brother, Alec. He's five months."

Dean almost dropped the baby again. The baby. He stared down at the kid—brother, a baby brother. A _real_ baby. Fear hit him. "What are we gonna do with him?" Dean couldn't keep up with a baby and Sammy! He already had to make sure Sammy got to school, Sammy's homework got done and checked, Sammy brushed his teeth, Sammy had breakfast and dinner and some kind of money for lunch. How the hell was Dean gonna watch a baby too? He had to go to school. He couldn't take a baby to school.

"Dad..."

Dad stared at Dean and reached out to take the baby back from him. Dean frowned at the look on Dad's face as he studied the ba—Alec. As he studied Alec. Dad's eyes were deep and sad, his face drawn and pale. He looked lost, and that didn't help Dean feel less afraid.

"What are we gonna do? We can't—I can't..."

"Things're gonna have to change, a lot," Dad said finally, bringing Alec's head up to rest against his shoulder. "We're gonna get the hell out of here first thing in the morning. Then, we're gonna head into New Mexico, rent us a house for a while. I'm gonna get a job or something, so we can stick to one place, get a babysitter. Get you boys in a steady school."

Dean stared at Dad, body starting to shake. Was his dad having some kind of nervous breakdown? He seemed kinda crazy, scared even. Was the baby scaring Dad like it was scaring him?

"Dad, are you sure he's even... ours?" Dean asked. Some random lady called Dad up and dropped a baby on him, and Dad just believed her? But then again, Dad had gone a long way to meet whoever that lady was, and he wouldn't have driven out so far for nothing.

"He's ours, Dean," Dad said. He rubbed Alec's back and cradled his head, rustling blond curls at the nape of the baby's neck. "I'll introduce him to Sammy in the morning." A tight grin cracked Dad's face. "He keeps saying he's tired of being the youngest. He got his wish, huh?"

Dean swallowed, stomach churning as Dad went to the empty second bed and laid Alec down on his back. Dean rubbed at the gooseflesh on his arms and begged his stomach to calm down. Dad was being weird, there was a baby, and... life was going to change. But the things Dad had said didn't sound bad. A house, steady school for Sammy, a babysitter, a normal job. No more stitching his dad up in the middle of night, no more being left alone for days at a time with Sammy asking him if Dad had abandoned them. No more being hungry, because the food had run out before Dad had gotten back.

At least, that was what Dad said. Dean had no way of knowing if that was how it would be. What if he got that house, and they got a steady school, but Dad kept hunting? It'd be Dean, Sammy and a freakin' baby.

Dean felt something hot and warm prickle behind his eyes, but he refused to let the tears see the light of day. Dean Winchester didn't cry. He was a man. But God, he didn't want a baby. He sat down hard on the bed he shared with Sam, ignoring Sammy's moan and rubbing his face with both hands. The baby cooed behind him and Dad murmured something.

Dean felt the walls of the room crushing in on him amiss the soft sound of Sammy's sleepy breathing and Dad humming some slow song to a gurgling infant.

* * *

Author's Note: So, what's the verdict? Like it? Hate it? Don't care about it either way? Any way you liked it, let me know. Please review! Take care!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 _Sioux Falls, South Dakota 2009_

Sam knelt on the floor in front of the chair Alec was cuffed to, staring up into his little brother's slack face. He looked just like Dean had when he was fourteen with a few subtle differences. No scar under the right eye, no freckles, no blemishes, longer, blonder hair. He was a teenage Dean after a session with Photoshop. Sam reached out, pressing his knuckles against Alec's cheek. Soft and fever warm. Alec had always run hot. It used to freak Dad out.

"Don't you think he's been out too long?" Sam asked. It had taken him and Bobby an hour to get home after Dean had called. Alec had been unconscious for over an hour. "Call Castiel again. He can fix this."

"I tried," Dean said, rubbing a hand over his face—something Dean did when he was frustrated or really tired. "But the kid's not breathing his last or anything. I think we just gotta wait it out."

But Sam didn't want to wait. He wanted to talk to Alec, find out where the hell he'd been. When Sam had found out Alec had been kidnapped by that Manticore cult, and that Dean and Dad had been looking with no luck for years… Sam had thought Alec was dead. Anger flushed his skin as he remembered the day he'd learned Alec was gone, the day Dean had come to the apartment he'd shared with Jessica to ask for his help. Dean had told him Dad went missing on a hunting trip, and Sam had thought: _Dad's a big boy. He'll find his way back when he's ready_. Then, Sam had asked about Alec, looking past Dean, trying to make out his little brother, who would have been twelve then, and hadn't seen him. Dean had looked Sam dead straight in the eye and let him know that two years before—two damn years—Alec had been stolen from them, and no one had called Sam.

Bobby checked the cuffs, looking Alec's wrists, then leaning down to check his ankles. "When's the last time you loosened these, Dean?"

"About 10 minutes ago," Dean said. "I checked him, Bobby. The cuffs aren't even leavings marks." Dean looked insulted. "I even lean him back every few minutes so he won't get a crick in his neck from dangling forward like that."

"You know, you could have just locked him in the panic room," Sam said. "Then you wouldn't have had to chain him up."

"He's not chained!" Dean shouted. "And I didn't want him waking up not able to see us. He has to know he's safe!"

"And Cas is sure he's not demon possessed?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, and I tested him. Splashed some holy water on him, even nicked him with silver," Dean grumbled. "He's fine."

Sam took a breath. Guilt, fear and a crushing want to just grab Alec and hug him until he woke up and complained he couldn't breathe attacked Sam. He was so sorry that he wasn't there to save Alec when those people took him. If Sam hadn't left the family, maybe he'd have been home with Alec the day he was abducted. Maybe he could have fought them off, or run with Alec. He was afraid because if Alec wasn't possessed, why was he fighting with demons? What had the cult done to him and what if Sam, Dean and Bobby couldn't fix it?

Alec moaned and Sam fell back. He sprang to his feet, standing shoulder to shoulder with Dean as they leaned over Alec.

"Hey, Alley, that's it. Wake up, buddy," Sam urged, patting Alec's cheek.

"It's us, Al, come on," Dean coaxed, his voice light.

Bobby stood back, watching with his arms folded over his chest.

Slowly, Alec's head came up, green eyes open and guarded as he took in Sam and Dean. Sam tried to interpret Alec's look. He didn't seem afraid or nervous, happy or angry. His face was blank, his gaze impassive.

"Alec?" Dean asked.

Alec blinked, honing in on Dean.

"You okay, buddy?" Dean asked. "You know who I am?"

"Alec." Alec said his own name as if it were foreign to him. "Why are you calling me that?"

Sam shuddered as dread crept down his spine. "You don't remember your name?"

Alec's eyes cut to him briefly, before going back to Dean. "You look like me," Alec drawled, then hummed softly, as if deep in thought. "Who are you?"

"Your brothers," Dean grunted. "We're your brothers and you're home now. Nothing's gonna take you from us ever again."

Alec's eyes stayed glued to Dean. "Brothers."

Sam's stomach hurt. There was no warmth in Alec's eyes, no dawning recognition. He was cold and matter-of-fact. What had happened to the cocky, smirking little brother who'd sat across motel meal tables charging Sam interest on five dollar loans?

"Now look here, boy," Bobby started, coming forward to stand between Sam and Dean. "You probably been through—"

"You're Dean," Alec cut Bobby off. Green eyes locked on Sam. "And you have to be Sam. And you…" Alec glanced at Bobby, "the dad—John?"

Bobby shook his head. "Uncle Bobby."

Alec nodded. "Yes." He hummed again, blank expression shifting into something softer. He seemed confused. "Dean, Sam and Uncle Bobby."

"You remember us?" Sam asked, fighting against hope. He didn't want to be disappointed, but…

Alec sighed, looking away and trying to move arms that were cuffed behind his back to the chair. "This is how you treat your brother?"

"No," Dean grunted. "We just… we had to be sure it was really you in there. Heard you been fighting with demons."

Alec's eyes glinted as they met Dean's again. "How did you hear about that?"

"Angel told me," Dean said flatly. "You got anything to say about it?"

Alec stared long and hard, before narrowing his eyes. "Yes, yes, I do."

"Say it," Dean said.

"My name's not Alec. It's X5-493," Alec said. "Alec, X5-494, is my twin brother, but he told me all about you."

Sam felt like he'd been punched in the face. _Huh?_ He stared at the boy, then shot looks at Dean and Bobby, studying their flabbergasted expressions.

"What are you talking about?" Dean got in Alec's face.

"Things you won't want to hear," Alec said.

Sam stared Alec's cool, dead eyes, remembering other times when he'd looked into the same eyes and felt something other than concern and fear.

* * *

 _Sioux Fall, South Dakota 2001_

"Okay, so when she asks you how old you are, you're gonna tell her…." Sam trailed off, waiting for Alec to fill in the blank.

The tiny seven-year-old sitting across from him leveled Sam with a bored stare. "I'm six, but for another five dollars and a pixie stick, I can be five."

"Another five dollars?" Sam demanded, looking at the ten-dollar bill he'd already put down on the clean kitchen table. He'd earned that ten doing chores around Bobby's house, though Dad said Sam should clean-up for free out of gratitude. They'd been at Bobby's for almost six months and the man still hadn't kicked them out. "D'ya think I'm made of money? Last week, this ten would have covered it all!"

Alec cocked his head, reaching out to take the ten. "It's called inflation, Sammy. Prices are going up everywhere."

"Inflation?" Sam sneered. "What about a family discount?"

Alec raised a brow. "Hey, I could have asked for another ten. Dean would have given it to me."

Sam's mouth fell open in incredulity. Alec was such a brat, and it infuriated Sam because people who didn't know him thought Alec was a little angel. The big green eyes and wavy blond hair around that cherub face had strangers eating out of his money-grubbing hands. And Dean and Dad thought it was funny, so funny that they encouraged it.

"What's it gonna be, Sam? Do you have the money or not?" Alec asked. "I've got other things I can do tonight besides being your _adorable_ wingman."

"Other things? What other things?" Sam snorted. Seven-year-olds didn't have better plans than being wined and dined by older brothers desperate to impress their dates. Becky would think Alec was cute, and that Sam was not only a super sweet big brother, but incredibly responsible. It would definitely get him a second date. Dean had gotten a prom date and several homecoming sweethearts out of it.

Alec hummed, holding Sam's ten-dollar bill up to the light as if checking to see if it was legit. "Well, Bobby and I might be going into business together. He likes the way I handle his books, and I've been talking to him about eBay. He's got good stuff to auction."

Sam blinked, not knowing if he'd ever stop being by astounded by his little brother's genius. Every school Alec had been enrolled in wanted to skip him up grades or put him in gifted and talented programs.

"Going once…" Alec sang. "Going twice…"

Shaking his head and growing frustrated, Sam pulled out his wallet and fished around for a five. "Here! That good enough?"

"The attitude stinks, but yeah." Alec took the five and produced his own wallet from his jeans. He opened it up and Sam gaped at the thick stack of bills inside.

"Oh my God! Where'd you get all that money?"

Alec sorted his bills, slipping the five into a particular spot. "Between you and Dean, I make about $40 a month, then Bobby gives me allowance for doing inventory. Think he's gonna let me do his taxes this year too. I get a cut, if I do. Oh, and every now and again, Dad slips me a five for no reason."

"Dude, you're seven. You're not supposed to have more money than me!" Sam shouted. Sam barely had 30 dollars in his wallet after giving Alec 15. He was going to be a cheap date, unless he borrowed money from Alec.

"I have more money than you?" Alec gave Sam a pitying look. "That's pathetic, Sammy-boy. What are you gonna tell your groupie chicks at Stanford when you have to ask them to take _you_ out?"

Sam choked on air, head spinning, stomach plunging as he gaped at Alec. "Wh-what? How the hell do you know about that? Does Dad—" Stone cold panic set in at the thought of Dad reading Sam's Stanford acceptance letter.

"No," Alec said, a slow smile crossing his face and Sam narrowed his eyes. That smile was soft, maybe even sincere. "Bobby pays me to get the mail and sort it for him. How do you think all your college mail gets to your room without anybody asking you about it?"

Sam shrugged. "Bobby." He'd figured Bobby was keeping quiet about Sam's doings. The man was on his side when it came to education. But still, he had wondered why Bobby never brought up the stack of college mail Sam had been getting up when they were alone. Sam hadn't asked, not wanting to stir the pot. He would let Bobby start the conversation.

Alec rolled his eyes. "Guess again." He put his elbows on the table and propped his chin on his open palms. "Bobby'd probably leave it on the table and nosy ass Dean would get it and ask about it where Dad could hear. Then, Dad would freak out on you. I'd ask for five more dollars just for saving you from that, but seeing as you're broke…."

Sam's chest felt tight and he struggled to breathe for a moment, before quashing the feeling. "You saw my acceptance letters, and the scholarship forms?"

Alec nodded. "Steaming open letters is easy."

Irritation heated Sam's blood. "I told you about going through my stuff!"

"Hey, where's the gratitude?" Alec asked. "I could have left it out for Dad."

Sam ground his teeth. "Okay, brat, thank you for not letting Dad see my mail first, or Dean or Bobby. But I don't like that you read through it. That's a felony, Alec! And… and what were you gonna do with what you learned? Blackmail?"

Alec frowned, smug expression fading as hurt flashed in his eyes. "No."

Feeling a little guilty at the sad look on Alec's face, Sam sighed. "Why did you read my mail and keep quiet about it, Al?"

Alec shrugged. "You didn't come out and talk about it, so I figured you didn't want anybody to know. And Dad would be pissed anyway, so I don't blame you, but… Why didn't you tell me or Dean? Dean would be happy for you, and he wouldn't tell Dad if you talked to him first."

"I don't know," Sam said, and he really didn't. Maybe he was still in shock from the fact that it actually could happen. He could go to college, full ride, and be out of the hunting business, out of this life. Maybe he could have some normal. But… "Maybe it's because I haven't decided yet. I haven't accepted."

"What?" Alec asked. "But they're offering you a full ride to friggin' Stanford, dude! It'd be crazy for you not to go. I mean, I know you're crazy and all, but not like stupid crazy."

Sam bopped Alec over the head with an open hand. "You know why. If I go to college, it'd be… I'd be leaving. No hunting, no road trips, no us."

Alec shifted in his chair. "But that's what you want, though. You hate hunting and traveling all over. You want to be in one place."

"Well, yeah." Sam scratched his head. He watched Alec toy with the folds of his worn leather wallet. "But it means I'd be far away from you. You could come visit, but you wouldn't see me every day, and I wouldn't see you."

"D'ya care if you don't?" Alec asked, eyes on his wallet. "I'm real annoying, and I eat your snacks, and I overcharge you a lot."

A sharp twang almost doubled Sam over at Alec's words. "What do you mean 'do I care if I don't?'" Sam reached over to rest his hand on top of Alec's head. "Hey, look at me."

Large, watery green eyes met his and Sam felt like a douche canoe. Was he really that mean to Alec? Sure, he yelled at him and held him upside down and told him to go away all the time, but what big brother didn't?

"I would miss you like crazy, if I didn't see you every day," Sam said, voice firm. "You _are_ annoying, but that's your job. And I guess I'm cranky, but that's _my_ job. So, I'm having a hard time deciding. I mean, I also got accepted to college at University of South Dakota and Sioux Fall University, full rides at those schools too. I could stay here with Bobby or nearby and maybe Dad would leave you here."

Alec pouted. "You can't choose those schools over Stanford, Sam."

"But I can choose you over Stanford," Sam said. "What you got to say about that?" He ruffled Alec's hair, hoping his little brother would smile.

Alec lower lip poked out farther. "No, you can't. Go to Stanford, Sammy."

"It's not that easy…"

"You'll regret it," Alec said. "If you go somewhere else, you're always gonna think about it. It's four years. Go to Stanford. And I'll get to visit California!"

Sam sighed, stroking Alec's hair instead of musing it now. "Is that what you want, kiddo?"

A fat tear rolled down Alec's cheek. "Yes."

"No, it's not," Sam said. He hesitated, not sure how Alec would take it, but chose to do it anyway. He stood up and moved to Alec, lifting his little brother out of the chair like a toddler and settling back into his own chair again, Alec on his lap. Alec squirmed, protesting, but Sam held him in place. Alec really was tiny for seven, and easy to manhandle, though he was strong as a beast.

"If I go away to college, and you don't see me that much anymore, and if Dad and Dean don't stay here with Bobby, you're going to be alone a lot more. Bobby will look after you here, but if they go on the road and take you, Dean might go out with Dad and you'll have to do everything yourself: school, cooking, everything."

"Dean wouldn't go with Dad if we went on the road," Alec said, sounding confident.

Sam hummed, realizing he agreed with that. Dean would not leave a seven-year-old on his own, but Dad might, and that meant a lot of arguing between Dad and Dean. Alec didn't need to put up with that.

"Dad will probably ask Bobby if I can stay here," Alec said.

Sam nodded, and Bobby would probably agree.

"But Dean would probably stay too," Alec said. "And that'll make Dad mad."

Sam and Dad argued until they were both blue. Sam recalled the stricken looks on Alec's face every time he scurried out of the room, before a yelling match escalated into screaming. Dean would try to placate Sam and Dad. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, and he'd take Alec out for dinner. If it was Dad and Dean fighting, who would save Alec?

"I'm probably not gonna go, Alley Cat," Sam said. "It was just a dream, something to think about."

"You should go," Alec mumbled. "We'll be okay. You're not gonna be gone forever."

He sounded so small and sad. It broke Sam's heart.

"You been thinking about this a lot?" Sam asked, rubbing Alec's shoulders.

Alec nodded. "I even…"

"You even what?" Sam asked gently.

"I was gonna give the money I made off eBay to you, to help, you know? 'Cause you're always broke. Scholarships only pay for so much."

 _Oh God_. Sam crushed Alec to his chest, hugging the little monster for all he was worth, which was a lot. Alec struggled, and Sam planted a kiss in his hair. "I love you. You're a brat and a turd, but I'm crazy about you." Alec could be so obnoxious that it was hard for Sam to remember at times how thoughtful he was. How Alec wouldn't eat the last peanut butter Handi-Snack the nights before Sam had big tests. Or how he'd take blame for Sam's forgotten chores, claiming he was the one who said he'd do it, when he knew Sam was having a bad day. He even acted extra interested in learning about hunting and doing research to get Dad's attention off Sam when he needed to study.

"You're a good little brother, Alley." Alec stopped resisting, relaxing in Sam's hold. "But I don't need you to take care of me. You keep your eBay money, and save up for something you want, okay? You're going to need something to occupy you when you don't have me around to pester all the time."

"Dean's not as fun to mess with," Alec said. "He doesn't get all mad."

Nah. Dean was _the_ big brother, the one who looked after Alec and Sam; who played with them when they were bored and comforted them when they were sad. Sometimes, Alec deferred to Dean the same way he deferred to Dad. Sam was the one he challenged.

Sam sighed, soul battered and patched from dealing with Alec, but shuddering at the next prospect. Sam cuddled Alec like a teddy bear. "I guess I gotta tell Dean."

"That you're going to Stanford?" Alec asked.

Sam rested his head atop Alec's. "Yeah."

Alec shifted tilting his head back so that Sam has to raise his. He peered down into Alec's bright eyes, sad and sincere. The eyes of a trusting little kid. A rush of warmth flooded him as Alec said, "He'll be sad, but he'll be proud of you too."

Sam smiled down at Alec, kissing his forehead. "I know, AC. I just don't want to see him sad. Seeing you like this is hard enough."

"I'll only be sad for a little bit, then I'll go buy some more candy with your money," Alec said with a grin.

Sam tickled his ribs and Alec squealed with laughter and wriggled out of Sam's lap. "Brat," Sam called after Alec as he grabbed his wallet off the table and scampered away.

Sam shook his head, mind on the Stanford letter. He'd mail off his response tomorrow. The post office was open on Saturday. His eyes fell on his thin wallet, wondering if he could borrow money from Dean for postage, because he wouldn't have any money left after his date tonight. Oh shoot.

"Alec! Be ready at 6:30! Take a bath and wear something without holes in it!" For fifteen dollars, the kid better be clean and cute.

Sam smirked and then sighed.

He was really gonna miss times like these.

* * *

Author's Note: Like it? Hate it? Don't care either way? Any way you liked it, let me know. Please review! Take care and thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Warning, this chapter is very long. I had a little too much fun with the Wee-chester section :D. Thanks for reading!

* * *

Chapter 3

 _Sioux Falls, South Dakota 2009_

Dean watched Sam pace the floor while Bobby took slow pulls from a bottle of beer. He slumped further into the couch, arms and legs sprawled out as his mind spun. The kid, Ben, was in the other room, still cuffed, and quiet as death; something he didn't have in common with Alec. Their kid brother had been noisy and hyper, always into something, always with something to say or ask. Ben was cold, calculating, and really only spoke when he thought he could get something out of it. And he was Alec's twin, meaning he was Dean's brother too.

Another baby brother. One that'd been raised in _that place_ all his life.

"Are we really gonna believe all that?" Sam asked. "That he's not just a brainwashed Alec making up stories so we'll let him go? I mean, come on."

Dean swallowed, glancing at Sam then looking to Bobby. His head was a mess. He didn't know what he believed, but maybe Bobby had something. "Whatcha' think, Bobby?"

Bobby grunted and slugged more beer. "I don't know, boys. It doesn't sound any crazier than the stuff we been dealing with to date. Makes some sense too. Guess that place would make multiples, in case the others ones didn't take, and they'd have a bunch of spare look-alikes if a lot did take."

"But that means Alec really was gonna be kept around for parts," Sam said. "That place was keeping Alec and other babies around to harvest for organs and tissue and whatever else."

Dean felt sick. A baby factory. Manticore was a demon-run organization, manufacturing human killing machines, one heir, one spare. Ben came out first and was great; Alec came out second and wasn't good enough to be their super soldier, but was good enough to keep around if Ben needed a kidney transplant. That explained why the doctor, Ben had called him 'Sandeman', had been able to get a hold of Alec and give him to Dad. Alec had been in the "spare factory", and not as heavily guarded. From the sounds of it, the doctor had grabbed some other spare babies too.

"Why wasn't he good enough?" Sam asked. "He was…"

"Amazing?" Dean supplied. "I mean, he was like super kid, even when he was a baby. If Ben was better than that…"

Dean shook his head, then anger overrode shock. How dare someone decide his little brother wasn't as good as someone else, even if that someone else was… Dean rubbed his temples.

"Okay, someone run the whole story over to me again, but in stupid guy terms," Dean said. "I gotta get my head around it. Second time's the charm."

Sam sighed. "The place me, you and Dad lived in after Mom died was a camp where demons were harvesting DNA from humans they decided had good genes. They figured it out by training up hunters and putting them to the test in the field. They only took from the best families. The demon over the whole project is named…"

"Mephistopheles," Dean mumbled. "Like Cass said. Mephy hated Yellow Eyes and vice versa; Yellow Eyes messed up the camps and spooked people into running."

"And Dad packed us up with help from that Sandeman guy; he gave Dad Pastor Jim's info. That's how he knew how to track us later," Sam said, running a hand through his hair. "Manticore experimented with all the stuff they took and made monsters and super babies. And then Sandeman broke in and stole some of the spare super babies and called up Dad to get Alley."

Dean shook his head. Second time wasn't the charm after all; his head still hurt. "And the kids are gene spliced with animal stuff too. That's what he said, right?"

Sam nodded. "Big cats, dogs, snakes, sharks…"

 _Mutants. Freaks_. Dean shut his eyes. If they weren't talking about family, they'd be talking about hunting these… what had Ben called himself, a transgenic? "You ever think Alley was part something else?"

Sam shook his head.

 _Weird. Strong. Fast. Great senses, great reflexes, incredibly smart._ But Dean had never thought Alec wasn't normal—no, he had. But he hadn't thought supernaturally abnormal, had he?

"Pass me some of that beer, Bobby," Dean sighed, reaching for Bobby's beer bottle and remembering the first time he really knew there was something very different about his baby brother.

* * *

 _Albuquerque, New Mexico 1996_

"Dean!" Sam shouted. "Make him stop staring at me!

Dean sighed as he finished wiping down the kitchen counter. His little brothers were having their daily stare-down, Sam sitting across from Alec's high chair. "Would you two just stop it."

" _He_ won't!" Sam said. "Weirdo brat! Ow!"

And there went a Spaghettio, right in Sam's eye. Dean chuckled. Alec had great aim for two-and-a-half, better than Sam's had been for sure. Hell, it was better than Sam's aim now. Dean winked at Alec as his little lookalike sucked tomato sauce off his fingers and got a toothy baby grin in return. Dean smiled back, loving that baby charm.

"Ah, Sammy, he just wants you to play with him," Dean said. He appraised the clean kitchen, nodding to himself that nothing was left out for the roaches. Ugh, he hated this place, but it'd been home for two years, a steady home.

Sam grabbed up Alec's bowl and snatched the fork from Alec's chubby hand. Dean rolled his eyes as Sam stuck his tongue out at Alec and Alec reciprocated. Sam brought all the dishes from the table over to the sink to wash. "I don't want to play with him. He's annoying."

"He's a baby," Dean said.

"And I'm 12 and not a girl! I don't want to play with babies!" Sam grumbled, water sloshing in the sink as he talked.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Dean said. "But hey, he wants to play with you and you're his big brother. You should act like it."

Sam groaned, setting his clean dishes on the side of the sink and turning around to look at Dean.. "I…"

Dean leveled a tired gaze on Sam. Dean's days started at 4:00 am, dealing with a two- year-old that didn't believe in sleep, and then a dad that slept through his 5:00 am alarm every morning. He made breakfast for four, kept the peace and made sure everyone made it to work, school and daycare, then made sure everybody got back home where there were chores to do, dinner to make, homework to check and baths to give.

Sam's hazel eyes softened. "I guess I can do more."

Dean nodded. It'd be nice if Sam did more than just pick up after himself for a change. Laundry, cooking a few meals, or just watching the damn baby for more than a few minutes. "Can you do it tonight? Will you watch Alec and let me go out?"

Sam's eyes widened. "Tonight? Aww, Dean, Randy and his dad were gonna come pick me for the movies. Don't you remember?"

Dean's shoulders slumped as he recalled Sam asking his permission the other day. How had he forgotten about that? Weariness rolled through his muscles. God, he needed a break. "I have a date, Sam. I told her I'd meet her at the mall." He scrubbed at his face.

"You don't look like you should be going out on a date," Sam said. "You look like you need to stay here and get some sleep or something."

Dean snorted. "Sleep? With this kid here?" Dean headed for the high chair to let Alec out. Baby brother beamed as Dean undid the latches, and Dean raised a brow at him. He was pretty sure the kid could let himself out of his own high chair. There was a lot the brat could do that he probably shouldn't be able to. Advanced. The teachers at the daycare cooed and purred over little Alec, the baby that walked and talked early, and could count to 100 and sing his ABC's backward. He'd potty trained at 15 months and eaten with utensils as soon as his little hands could grip a fork.

Dean set Alec on the floor, smirking as he ran off into the tiny living room, probably to find a toy—or something new to destroy. Nothing with moving parts was safe around that kid. Dean bought him a hand-me-down toy toolbox and workbench filled with plastic junk he could take apart, but he never went for them. Nah, Alec liked remotes, Discmans, VHS's, radios and anything else Dean, Sam or Dad had left where the kid could get to it. He climbed like a damn cat and was as fast as one too.

"Well," Sam said. "Well. I was thinking I could start helping out tomorrow. It's Friday, Dean and it's opening night for the movie! I'll watch him all weekend! I promise!"

Dean sighed, his date wasn't as flexible as Sammy when it came to the weekend. She worked. Friday was when she was off. Dean really liked Nicole, and hadn't thought she'd say yeah with his reputation. Yeah, it was his fault he had a reputation. It'd been cool the first year they'd been here. Dean chatting up all the hot girls in his class, plus the juniors and seniors, but…stuff like that only worked out for short-term stays. Dean hadn't known what it was like to be in a place for longer than a few months. Who cared if he dated a whole bunch, and snuck around when he knew he was leaving soon? A lot of nice girls cared, and Dean was finally still around to see how bad he hurt their feelings.

Nicole was a real nice girl. Dean stretched, moaning as his back cracked. "All right, Sammy, all right. My bad. I forgot about your movie. You go on. I got this."

Sam frowned. "Tomorrow, I promise."

"Uh huh," Dean said, head turning toward the living room at the sound of something falling over. "Alley Cat, nothing better be broken!" He jogged out of the little kitchen in search of a toddler and trying to figure out how to break his date with Nicole while keeping in her good graces.

* * *

"Oh. My. God!"

Dean smiled sheepishly at Nicole Lee as the tall, brunette girl with the biggest brown eyes Dean had ever fallen into, melted at the sight of him holding Alec's hand.

"Aren't you just the cutest little thing!" she squealed, kneeling down to be at Alec's level. Dean gave Alec's hand a squeeze, hoping the kid would play it up, the girl liked him.

Alec grinned and ducked his head, turning around to hug Dean's knee, like he was shy. He kept turning his head to peep at her, then he'd smile and bury his face in Dean's jeans again. Dean wanted to pump his fist— _Good going, kiddo_!

"Are you shy?" Nicole cooed. "You know you like me. Look at you smiling. Oh my God, look at these eyes and those lashes. Why, you look just like your big brother Dean, don't you? How old are you?"

Alec peeped at her again, and then looked up at Dean as if asking for permission to speak. Dean nodded. "Tell the nice girl how old you are, Alley."

"Two," Alec said, holding up two little fingers.

"Oh wow! You're so tiny," she said. "Come here." She held out her arms and Alec practically jumped into them. Dean held back a snort, sure that his little brother loved girls as much as he did.

Nicole stood with Alec in her arms, nuzzling his cheek and gazing at Dean, eyes sparkling. "You didn't tell me you were bringing company tonight."

Dean shrugged. "My other little brother was supposed to babysit, but he canceled on me, and I didn't want to cancel on you. Alec's pretty good, so I just kinda hoped you wouldn't mind. You don't, do you?"

Nicole wrinkled her nose at Alec who laughed. "Nah," she said. "I love kids, and this one's cute." She cocked her head at Dean "Just…never took you as the babysitting type."

Dean shrugged again, blushing a bit. He didn't like telling people about his home situation. Sometimes he felt like a wife, and that was not cool conversation, but Nicole looked kinda impressed. "Yeah. My dad, he works a lot, so I end up taking care of the kids."

"Oh?" Nicole looked pleased. "I wondered why you never came to any school things. I always thought you had some date from another school or something."

Dean cringed— _Here came that reputation again_. "Nah." Dean shook his head. "I just don't have all that much free time. Gotta pick the kids up from school and daycare, make dinner, check homework. I beg for the few nights I get out."

Nicole stared at him as she placed a kiss in Alec's wavy blond hair. "Yeah? I do a lot of that, you know, when I'm not working. I could barely get out tonight. Sometimes, I feel like I'm going crazy, having to be too adult. My mom needs to be doing a lot of the stuff I do. I have to beg too."

"How'd you get to come out with me?" Dean asked.

"Bribed a sister babysit," Nicole laughed. "I had better luck than you, but you know what? This is good too!" She tickled Alec's belly and Alec supplied her with a good laugh. Dean gave him extra points, because Alec wasn't ticklish at all.

"So, I'm guessing a movie and dessert after might not be such a good idea," Nicole said. "Can this little guy sit through a movie?"

Dean nodded. "He hasn't had a good nap today. He'll sleep." Dean met Alec's eyes. He knew he was pretty damn desperate to be making deals with a toddler, but he'd told his brother he'd buy him gummy bears if he took a nap during the movie, and that'd he'd share dessert after. Alec was smart beyond his years. He actually could be reasoned with, except when it came to breaking shit.

"Okay," Nicole said.

They walked through the crowded mall, Nicole carrying Alec and walking so close to Dean their sides brushed. The indoor movie theater inside the mall was semi-crowded. Dean's worst nightmare was that this would be the theater Sam and his friend were going to, but no. Dean remembered Sam saying they were going to a different one. _Excellent_ , Dean thought, _no extra little brothers_. Sam had never been good at sticking to scripts and impressing Dean's dates. Outings with Sam usually ended with Sam whining and telling girls crap Dean didn't need them to hear.

Dean paid for his and Nicole's movie tickets and claimed Alec was under two so he'd get in free. "Do you want something?" Dean nodded toward the concession stand and glanced at Nicole.

"Uh… we could get a large popcorn and maybe split a soda?" Nicole said. "Can Alec have something too?"

"Gummy bears," Dean said. "He'll eat them all day if I let him."

"Aww." Nicole cuddled Alec and Alec glowed, hugging her neck and Dean narrowed his eyes. Okay, the brat was getting way more play than Dean at this point, but he couldn't exactly demand that Nicole drop the kid.

"I'll get in line for the food," Dean said, expecting Nicole to stand off and wait while he got the snacks, but she followed him, walking beside him. She watched him as they moved together. Dean let her watch, not making any moves, just glad for her attention.

"Dean likes you a lot!" Alec suddenly piped up. "He said you're pretty and smart."

Dean hid a grin. _The kid remembered the lines_. He was going to get him two boxes of gummy bears.

"Oh, did he?" Nicole asked. She shot Dean a look. "Is he getting the gummy bears for telling me this?"

Dean snorted with laughter. Nicole was 'the smartest'. "And he's getting them for being good during the movie."

"Huh, wish I could train my sisters like this," Nicole said. She gazed at Alec. "What else did Dean say about me?"

"You can sing and you like good music," Alec said. "You have pretty hair and a nice rack."

Dean cursed under her breath and reached out to ruffle Alec's hair. "And that's enough! You still want those gummy bears, right?"

Nicole laughed. "I'll get you gummy bears, if he doesn't, sweetie. You speak so well! My little sister couldn't use whole sentences when she was two. You get treats for being smart. Now, what else did Dean say?"

"Hey!" Dean tickled her and she laughed, leaning into him. He inhaled her cinnamon and apple scent and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her in for a half-hug. She rested her head on his shoulder for a second, then gazed up him and Dean's heart did a cliché flip-flop. God. He'd never seen anyone so beautiful. And the way she looked at him… It made him feel like he was somebody truly awesome, a king, a president, someone people could really like… or love.

He wanted to kiss her, but there was a baby head in the way. He patted Alec's hair, pulling away from Nicole as they reached the front of the line to order the snacks. He checked the prices on the board and tried to match it to what he had in his pocket. Cash was always tight and he felt bad for what he took out of the family's budget.

"Get a value pack, Dean," Alec chirped, patting Dean's cheek from where he was in Nicole's arms.

"Huh?" Dean peered at Alec, startled to find his brother gazing up at the pricing board too.

"It has a large popcorn, candy, and a large drink for less than it'd cost for you to get a large popcorn, drink and gummy bears separate after you add the tax," Alec stated.

Dean blinked at him and glanced at Nicole who was also staring.

"Uh, s'that right?" Dean asked. They'd reached the front of the line and the college-aged looking guy at the counter gave Dean an annoyed look.

"You ordering or what?" he asked.

Dean glared at the guy. "Yeah, gimme a sec, though. A value pack is gonna cost less,

Alley? But it's almost $9." Dean stared at all the different prices and tried to add them up in his head too. How had the brat done that _and_ calculated the tax?

"You'll save two dollars and seventy-three cents!" Alec nodded his head. "I'll eat Goobers."

Dean and Nicole stared, and the cashier raised a brow. "What's with the kid? He like _Little Man Tate_ or something?"

"Or something," Dean said, shaking his head a little. "He right about the value pack?"

The cashier shrugged. "Yeah. It's a good deal. Didn't know you saved that much, though. You want it?"

Dean looked at Nicole. "You pick the drink, Nic."

"Um… Sprite," she said, gazing at Alec. "How'd you do that, baby?"

Alec gave her his doe eyes. "I watch Dean and Daddy! Daddy says we're being robbed and taxes ain't fair. But they're the same at every store we go to. It always adds up right with the price."

Dean ordered the value meal, ruffling Alec's hair and reaching to take him from Nicole. "Where'd you learn to do that kind of math, Alley?"

"Your book," Alec said, starting to look confused.

"Which book, sweetie?" Nicole asked. They stood at the warm glass counter while the cashier got their order ready. The lines of people behind and around them seemed to be ignoring their conversation, which Dean was grateful for. He guessed maybe it shouldn't matter so much now, because, well they weren't hunters anymore, but he always felt the need to be inconspicuous. A genius baby working out sales tax in his head wasn't exactly that.

"Macroeconomics," Alec said. "I like it."

Nicole's eyes went wide as she met Dean's gaze. "Macroeconomics? You teach him to say this stuff too?"

Dean shook his head and adjusted Alec on his hip, giving him a stare-down. Alec held his eyes. "You read my textbook? And you liked it? You…" he learned from it. His nearly two-and-a-half-year-old brother could read high school textbooks about math and understand them—and then work equations in his head? Money-making ideas poured in. Game shows, talk shows, "Alley Cat, you're a baby genius! Disney and Nickelodeon need to know about you!"

"You didn't know he could do this?" Nicole asked.

"He never did it before," Dean said, setting Alec down but grabbing his hand before the toddler could escape. "But he's always been real smart. He did everything early, and I knew he could read, but hell, _The Cat in the Hat_ stuff, not _Macroeconomics._ I can barely read that."

"Guess my little sister's an embarrassment. She's six and needs help reading _The Cat in the Hat_. But, most kids don't read till then, right?" Nicole shook her head. "You're amazing, Alec. You sure you're two, or are you putting me on?"

"Two and five months!" Alec grinned up at her and reached into the pocket of his denim overalls, pulling out a wrapped Jolly Rancher. He moved around Dean's legs to put himself between Dean and Nicole. Dean released the little bugger's hand, narrowing his eyes at the candy. He hadn't bought Alec any Jolly Ranchers. Had the daycare given them out?

"Thank you!" Nicole said, taking the candy.

"I don't know where he got that," Dean confessed. "Could be contraband." The few times Dad went to the grocery store and took Alec with him, he didn't always keep the baby in the cart. Dean knew better.

"Makes it taste better," Nicole said with a shrug. She grinned at Dean, and Dean felt like the president again. When their order was up on the counter, he paid and carried the snacks, leaving Nicole to take Alec's hand. He listened to them chatter back and forth, Nicole asking Alec questions about numbers and colors and to read words she pointed out. Dean shook his head as she marveled at all the things Dean was used to his little brother doing on a daily basis.

Through the movie, Dean sat, Alec asleep in his lap, staring at his brother every now and again. Sammy was a brain and Alec was a genius, had to be. Dean wondered what'd happened to him, because he certainly didn't fit either of those categories. Maybe Alley Cat's mom was really something—though they hadn't heard from her ever. Sometimes Alec asked and Dean showed Alec pictures of _his_ mom instead. But then there was Sam, who'd come from the exact same stuff as Dean. No excuses there, something had to be wrong with Dean.

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and started when Nicole took his hand. He glanced at her, finding her smiling at him. She leaned to rest her head on his shoulder, and stayed that way for the rest of the movie. Dean tried not to tremble, tried to be cool, squeezing Nicole's fingers, stroking Alec's hair. Thoughts of being stupid and crashing family smart curves faded as he simply basked in normalcy. Smart little brothers meant that big brother was doing a good job preparing them for the world. Dean nodded to himself, but a crumb of unease still bounced around in his gut.

A toddler doing taxes was weird. He'd tell Dad about it next time they got to talk and see what he thought. Maybe Alec needed to be in one of those special schools, like the one _Little Man Tate_ had gone to. They needed to get him an IQ test, Sammy too.

Dean's special little brothers.

* * *

The movie's ending credits played and people in the theater moved around, but Dean stayed sitting with Alec's warm body asleep against his chest and Nicole's head on his shoulder.

Dessert at Denny's went so quick Dean almost missed it, and then he was driving Nicole home, Alec knocked out in his car seat in back. Dean had shined up the Impala special just for this trip. Nicole had come to the mall with friends and had split from them to meet him, but the plan had always been for him to take her home. He walked her to the door of her little house, waiting, waiting for her to lean in, to look at him like she had at the theater and over apple pie ala mode.

The kiss was quick, sweet, not much tongue, not much hand action, but hands-down the best kiss he'd ever had. He pulled away from Nicole, holding her hands, studying her in the porchlight. He felt like one of those dorks on TV that couldn't talk around girls. His hands were sweaty and his throat was dry. He heard his heart pounding in his ears. He wanted to say something significant to her. Something that would make her think that he was the best guy she'd ever kissed.

"I had a lot of fun tonight," she said.

"Yeah, me too," Dean said, glad his voice had come out cool.

"You're not at all like anyone thinks you are," she said, "and I'm glad I'm the first one to know it."

Dean nodded. "Yeah. I'm glad too. You…"

"You wanna do this again?" Nicole beat him to it.

"Yeah, yeah, totally," Dean said. "Whenever, you know." He still couldn't think of anything awesome to say.

"I really like you, Dean Winchester," Nicole said, wrapping her arms around him again and resting her head on his shoulder. "Next time, maybe it can be just us."

"Mmhmm…" Dean murmured, rubbing her back. "Just us. Nicole?"

"Yeah, Dean."

"I really like you too."

And they'd kissed again, and Dean changed his mind. The second kiss was the best kiss he'd ever had, hands-down. He walked backward to his car, grinning at her still standing on the porch waving to him. He'd crashed right into the passenger side door and blushed, then walked around to get in the driver's seat. He waved at her one last time as he drove away, humming to himself. Maybe it was time for Dean Winchester to have one, steady girlfriend. He could bug Dad about getting a little more free time, and maybe she could get some too, and they could go to corny shit like Homecoming and Junior Prom. That'd be… nice.

"You smell like apples, Dean," came Alec's sleepy mumble from the back.

"Mmmhmm."

"Did you kiss her?"

"Mmmhmm."

"She likes you."

"I like her too," Dean said.

"If you wanna go out with her some more, I can come too. You don't even have to give me stuff," Alec said. "I like when you're happy."

"I'm happy, Alley."

"Not all the time," Alec said, "But you're happy now."

Dean swallowed, adjusting the rearview mirror so he could see Alec in the backseat. "I'm happy, kiddo. What makes you think I'm not?"

Alec's green eyes, so much like his but not quite, were somber. "Sometimes you cry."

Dean blinked. "Uh, no, little man…" Dean never cried in front of his brothers. Hell, he rarely cried at all, except for when… when he was really tired. Every now and again, all the chores and the kid stuff and school and Dad yelling and being miserable, and money being so tight that Dean had to budget to the penny, was too much. He was sixteen. He shouldn't have to do it all himself. And sometimes, he went into the bathroom, after everyone as asleep, turned on the sink and shower, and cried a little.

"I can hear you," Alec said softly. "Over all the water."

Dean stared. He could… Alec had eyes like a hawk, could make out just about anything from way too far away to be normal, and now he could hear quiet sobs over shower water, through closed doors and walls. The unease was back. He didn't like it. Alec was… there were so many little things about Alec that were strange, but what did Dean really know about baby development and stuff like that. When Dad was home, he saw it too, and he didn't seem worried. Alec was happy, healthy—had never been sick a day in his life. No colds, no sniffles, no stomachaches, just fevers really, but even then, it'd just turned out that his body ran hotter than average. All-in-all he was a pretty easy kid, easier than Sammy, just destructive and not at all remorseful about it.

"I think Daddy wants to leave," Alec said suddenly.

"Huh? What's that, Al?"

"Daddy. He was on the phone yesterday talking to a man," Alec said. "The man said he had some jobs Daddy would be very interested in, and Daddy sounded kinda happy. Like you did."

"When was this?" Dad had gotten home after Dean had gone to bed. He'd barely seen him that morning.

"You were asleep," Alec said. "I wanted juice." Dean frowned as Alec folded his little arms over his chest. "I _can_ pour it myself."

"You had to get it down, and a cup too, meaning you were climbing on shit again. I oughta…" Dean trailed off. He hated spanking his brother, but Dad wasn't there to do it most of the time. "Don't do it again. If you're that thirsty, wake me up."  
"You were sleepy." Alec pouted.

"Better me being a little sleepy than you being a lot squished, because you pulled something heavy down on yourself," Dean sighed. "Now, what happened with Dad? Did he say he was gonna take the job? They say anything… weird?"

Alec didn't know anything about ghosts and demons. He was a baby. Dad didn't want him exposed to that world.

"Daddy said he'd think about it. Said you and Sammy and me were doing good here, but then the man said something about a demon with yellow eyes. Like the one in Daddy' book."

Dean froze, blood running cold. He spied a place on the road where he could pull over and stop. Alec went quiet as Dean shifted the car into park and turned in his seat to look directly at Alec.

"What do you mean 'in Daddy's book?'" Dean kept his voice calm and even. He hoped his face was blank. He didn't want to scare Alec, but he needed to know how much damage control he'd have to do. Alec didn't have nightmares and Dean never wanted him to.

"The one he writes in. He stays up really late looking at newspapers and drawing stuff."

"And you're up spying on him?" Dean asked. "He never noticed you?"

Alec shook his head. "Am I in trouble?"

"No," Dean said slowly. He sighed, drinking in the troubled expression on Alec's baby face. If it wasn't such a hassle getting the kid in and out of that car seat correctly, Dean would unstrap him and give him a hug. As it was, he reached over the seat and stroked the pad of his thumb over Alec's little cheek. "You're not in trouble, buddy. I just… I need to know how much you know about Daddy's book, okay? Do you know what it's about, what Daddy used to do before there was a you?"

"He chased ghosts and saved people!" Alec said with the confidence of a toddler. Dean loved how babies just announced things that could break an adult's heart like it was nothing. 'You're ugly.' 'Dad says you're stupid.' 'Your breath stinks.'

Dean didn't think his heart was broken though. Alley didn't sound afraid, so maybe he'd read about the ghosts, but didn't associate them with the scary things on TV. But then again, Alec wasn't a little kid that cried about monsters under the bed and in closets. He'd never even been scared of the dark—probably because he could see right through it. The baby crept through the night, avoiding furniture and crap like every house light was on to guide his way. Yet another strange detail to add to Alec's baby book.

"You know what ghosts are, Alley?" Dean asked.

"Unhappy dead people," Alec said.

"You believe in them?"

"Daddy does," was the simple answer. No fear. No judgement. Just… baby innocence.

Huh. Dean ruffled Alec's hair. "Did Dad tell the guy he was gonna call him back after he had time to think about it?"

Going back on the hunt. Dean had wondered if Dad was truly going to give up hunting. He wasn't happy, Alec was very right about that. Dean couldn't really remember a time when hunting wasn't a part of his daily life—well, before Alec, he couldn't. If Dean wasn't learning all about some supernatural creature and how to kill it, he was training, he was watching Dad's back on jobs, or he was watching and protecting Sammy till Dad got back from a job that was too dangerous to take Dean on.

Did Dean miss any of it? A sad thrill whipped around in his stomach. Maybe. Maybe he missed the action. He'd liked being in danger and feeling like he was helping Dad, making him proud. He liked—he liked spending time with Dad, kinda bonding over something they had in common. It was the only time Dean really felt he had Dad's full attention.

But there were also a lot of things he didn't miss. Moving around all the time, being hungry because Dad stayed out on a hunt longer than expected and there were no more groceries. Having to take care of Sammy all by himself and answering Sammy's angry questions about why Dad left them all the time. Lying to schools about where Dad was or how he'd gotten his hunting injuries. Being scared that a hunt would go wrong, and Dad would die, he would die, and Sammy'd be alone. And now there was Alec.

If they went back on the road, Dean had no doubt that Sammy would have to take on his role of caretaker, watching Alec while Dad and Dean went out. If a hunt went wrong, then Sammy _and_ Alec would be alone. No, they couldn't do it. Dad couldn't do it to them. Dean took a shuddering breath and patted Alec's head. "Let's go home, bud." He turned around in his seat and started the car.

"Are you sad, Dean?" Alec asked as Dean pulled back onto the road.

"Yeah, kid. I'm sad," Dean said, feeling heavy. "But it's gonna be okay. Don't worry about a thing."

"Are you scared of ghosts?" Alec asked.

Yes, Dean was scared of ghosts. Alec should be too, but Dean never wanted him to be. "No, right now, ghosts are not what I'm scared of."

"You don't want to leave," Alec said.

"No, baby, I don't," Dean said. "But I don't know that I'm going to have a whole lot of a choice in it. We'll see."

Alec was so quiet for the duration of the ride home Dean thought he was sleeping again, but right before Dean cut the engine in the driveway of their little house, Alec said, "I don't like when you're sad, Dean."

Dean rested his head on the steering wheel. "I know, kid. But you don't have much of a choice in that either." He sighed, staring back at the sight on Dad's truck paralleled by the curb in front of the house.

Time to find out what was up.

"Come on, Alley. Bedtime."

* * *

Dad was at the kitchen table by the time Dean had gotten Alec washed up and tucked in with Sam for the night. It was about 11:00, too early for Sam to go to bed on a Friday night, but Dean could tell Sam was avoiding Dad. He'd feigned sleep as Dean pulled the covers back and helped Alec hop onto the mattress. Dean grunted, knowing Sam's game. He hated when Dean put Alec in his bed, but Dean wasn't going to bed yet, and Alec was an escape artist. Cribs were out of the question, and so the baby usually slept with Dean. Although, Alec had proved that even sleeping with his big brothers couldn't keep him in bed.

Alec had frowned at Dean, eyes wide open and Dean rubbed the area between Alec's brows. "If you go to sleep, then tomorrow, I'll take you to the park and get you a fried cheese on a stick. Hm? Sound good?"

Alec beamed and shut his eyes.

Dean snorted, then raised a brow at Sam. "How long's Dad been home?"

"I dunno," Sam murmured. "He was here before I got back."

"You okay?" Dean asked.

Sam opened his eyes, they glistened with tears. "I think we're leaving here soon. He's got that look again and he was looking through his journal. Dean, I don't want to go. I have friends. I like school. I don't want it to be like it was."

Dean sighed and ruffled Sam's hair. "I like what you like, Sammy. I'll… see what I can do." And with those empty parting words, because Dean knew there was nothing he could do if Dad had it in his mind to leave, Dean left the room, heading out to greet Dad.

Dad looked up as Dean sat down at the table. Sam was right, that wild, obsessed glint was back in Dad's eyes. An almost manic energy crackled around him as he thumbed through his journal pages and read over some notes written on the scratch pad they kept by the phone.

"Charlie called, said he had big a job in Kentucky… and a sighting of the Yellow Eyed Demon nearby. Said he'd sure like our help." Dad studied Dean. "I know you ain't been training, but you're a natural shot, Dean. We're gonna need you out there as back up while we take these things down. It's a pack of red caps, been terrorizing a wooded area just outside a town. Killed some campers."

"What about the kids?" Dean asked.

Dad blinked then frowned. "They'll have to come with us." He sighed and rubbed at red-rimmed eyes. "Son, I know you like it here. It was—you needed a home base for a while, but you know what our mission is. We can't play house forever. Now that Alec's bigger, we need to get back on the road."

"Now that he's bigger?" Dean couldn't believe his ears. "Dad, he's two!"

"And smart and well-behaved, nothing Sammy can't handle on his own."

A rock lodged itself in Dean's stomach. "Dad, we can't—we can't live like that again. You can't do what you did to me to Sammy. It's not fair to either one of them."

"What I did to you?" Dad stared at Dean. "You did what you're supposed to, watched after your brothers. You learned responsibility. It's Sammy's turn now."

"No," Dean said. "Watching Sam and Alec is my job. If you take us back out on the road, it's just gonna be you going on those jobs, Dad. I'm not leaving them alone. And if that's the case, you might as well just let us stay here while you drive around. I'll—I'll get a job or something to try to keep up the rent." He was being stupid and he knew it. There was no job he could get that would make him enough money to keep renting the house and buying food and gas and paying for daycare and clothes. But Dad had to know how serious he was about staying, and not moving the kids around.

"Stop acting like a little kid, Dean," Dad snapped. "I'm gonna settle everything up here, make plans to get rid of all our extra junk, and give notice. Good thing I switched to a month-to-month lease."

Dean sighed, closing his eyes and letting his head roll forward. He thought about all of the things they'd accumulated in two years. The furniture and major appliances had come with the house, but there were trinkets now: posters, pictures, decals. Dean and Sam had bought music and movies, more clothes than they'd ever owned. There was the TV, Alec's toys… Dean ran a hand through his hair. They had the Impala and Dad's truck. That meant maybe they could have a suitcase a piece. So many things would have to be tossed out.

"Are we gonna do the motel thing again? Or are you gonna find us better places, more little houses to rent, apartments? And there's daycare, Dad. We can't just leave Alec with anybody."

"He'll be with me. I won't do hunting stuff during the day. I'll research and then pass him off to you or Sam when it's time to go out," Dad said simply.

"And if you're out for a few days, weeks? Do me and Sam just not go to school to watch the baby?" Dean demanded.

"I won't be out for weeks, maybe a few days though. You can miss a couple of days here and there," Dad grunted. "And if I know something's really gonna take time, I'll take you all to Bobby's or Jim's. Let them keep you. I know Jim don't mind, and Bobby likes you."

"Dad—"

"Dean, this is about getting the thing that got your mother! Keeping it from coming back for Sammy, maybe even coming for Alec, or other kids like them."

A wild flash of fear at the thought of the demon returning for his brothers winded Dean for a second.

"You know why we have to do what we do," Dad said, looking Dean directly in the eyes. "You had a nice break, but it's time to get back to work, son. I need you to tell your brothers."

"Me?" Dean murmured. "Why me?"

"Because Sam will take it better from you," Dad said.

"You're afraid of little Sammy?"

Dad scowled. "I don't want to fight with Sammy while I'm dealing with business. And Alec will be okay with whatever you're okay with doing."

Dean scrubbed a hand over his face, nerves raw. Of course, Dad would stick him with the hard stuff. If Dean was feeling bold, he'd call Dad out on it: chicken. He imagined Sam's fury, then watched it fade becoming sadness at having to leave his friends. He pictured Alec frowning and asking Dean if he was happy.

Dean swallowed. Damn perceptive kid. Too perceptive. He'd wanted to talk to Dad about it tonight, but… Dean watched as Dad went back to his journal. Dad would only be half listening to him at that point. Frustration set in as Dean stood up.

"I'm going to bed," he said.

"Mmhm…" Dad turned a page.

Dean didn't bother with goodnight, because he knew Dad wouldn't sleep, wouldn't care. Dad had never been a big conversationalist, and didn't like to open up. Being stationed in one place for a while hadn't changed that fact. Dad would shrug off anything Dean had to say about Alec, so Dean didn't bother. He was tired.

 _No_ , Dean thought. _I'm not tired. I'm sad_.

With a final backward glance at Dad, Dean left the kitchen.

That night, Dean lay in bed, listening to the soft breathing of his brothers in the double bed beside his single. The little house had two bedrooms, Dad had his own, and twin bed had been squeezed into the other one to accommodate for Dean. The only piece of furniture Dad had bought for the house was Dean's bed. It was either that or have Dean on the couch, and that just wouldn't do for a place they planned to live in.

Dean wondered what the landlord would do with the bed, hell, with all the junk they let behind. Dean didn't doubt that if Dad couldn't sell their stuff, they'd leave it behind and stiff the landlord on the junk removal bill. It would be just like old times.

Old times Dean kind of missed, but didn't want to go back to.

He let his head loll to one side and started. In the sallow gleam of the nightlight plugged into the wall, Dean saw green eyes staring at him.

"Alley?"

"I told you Daddy wanted to leave."

"Yeah, yeah, you did," Dean whispered.

"I don't want you and Sam to be sad."

 _Yeah, well, sad is our life, kiddo. I just wish I could protect you from it_ , Dean thought. He sighed, "We won't be sad, Alley. We'll be hunters. Hunters and brave and love the thrill of saving people… and hunting things."

"Can I be a hunter too?"

 _Oh God_ , Dean thought. _Never_. He cleared his throat. "Not for a long time, Alley. Go back to sleep."

"I'd be good at it, Dean," Alley said. "I can see in the dark, and run fast and climb."

Dean snorted. "Yeah, your modesty astounds me."

"You didn't ask Daddy why I'm so special."

Dean started for the second time since he laid down. "What? How did you—"

"Daddy told me that I was made special," Alec said softly. "He looked funny when he said it."

Dean blinked. He was sure most parents told their kids they were special, but he wasn't sure his dad had. Maybe when Dean was too little to remember he'd said it, and maybe he'd said it to Sammy once. Or maybe he hadn't. Dad wasn't that kind of guy really, but he'd said it to Alec—with a funny look. It was almost enough to make Dean get out of bed and go back into the kitchen, determined to tell Dad about all the strange things to date he'd noted about Alec. Dean stared into the green eyes still on him. But was he being stupid? Alec wasn't some kind of supernatural creature. Because that's the only way Dean could explain things like that. If Alec wasn't his brother, maybe he'd think he was a creature, something they'd hunt.

A shudder rippled up Dean's spine. He threw the covers back and made his way to Alec. Alec rolled onto his back, staring up at Dean, a borderline solemn look on his face. Dean shook his head, reaching down and plucking Alec out of bed. "How about you sleep with me tonight?"

Alec grinned and pressed his face into Dean's neck. "Okay!"

Dean chuckled and tucked his brother into the small bed, then climbed in, draping an arm around him. "You are the weirdest little brother in the world, you know that? But you're mine, so you're awesome."

"Is Sammy awesome too?"

"Nah, Sammy's a princess."

Alec laughed. "Night, Dean."

"Night, Alley." Dean kissed Alec's hair, and shut his eyes.

The walls of the house were thin and even Dean could hear the sounds drifting from the kitchen. Rustling drawers and loading guns.

Their semi-normal lives were over and semi-old life on the road would begin soon. Dean kissed Alec again, wondering how Dad was going to use this special little brother once he was big enough to join the hunt.

* * *

Author's Note: Told you it was long. What do you think? Like it? Hate it? Don't care either way? Any way you liked it, let me know. Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Hey! Thank you to anyone reading this story. A special thanks to Donkey. I can't send you PM's, but I can express my gratitude for your thoughtful reviews. So glad you're enjoying this drabble. I like slipping into past and present, because I do like writing about the boys when they were kids, but present Winchesters are fun too. :D.

* * *

Chapter 4

 _Sioux Falls, South Dakota 2009_

"All right… Ben," Sam said, still stumbling over the name. "Where is Alec?" He stood a few feet from Ben's hair, Dean at his side, Bobby at his back.

Ben sighed, cool green eyes sizing Sam up. "What will you do, if I tell you?"

"Go and get him!" Dean shouted. "Where's he at?"

Ben raised a brow, a friggin' Dean expression if Sam ever saw one. "It's that easy for you, is it? Go and get him. He's been with Manticore for four years, seven months and twelve days. If you were so intent on rescuing him, why haven't you already?" He paused as if to let them answer, but then spoke up again, "Oh. Maybe because it's impossible, and you would have been terminated."

"You little—" Sam had to hold Dean off from gripping Ben's collar. Anger pulsed inside of him too, but he had to keep cool, for Dean, for Alec. Purpose ticked under his skin. His purpose was finding Alec and getting him home safe now that Sam was sure that he was alive.

Ben nodded at Sam. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me," Sam said flatly. He didn't know how he felt about Ben. Ben who was Alec and wasn't. Ben who was his brother, but who Sam hadn't known. It was Adam all over again, except Adam had led a pretty normal life, up until he'd been killed and feasted on by ghouls. Regret and sorrow were constant visitors to Sam's dreams at night. Poor Adam, who'd never had a chance when the monsters knocked at his door. Sam used to swear he hated Dad for dragging them into hunting, but at least it'd given Sam a fighting chance. Because the monsters were always going to come for him, no matter how ordinary he tried to be. Poor Jess for being cursed by him.

"So, what do you propose we do, huh, Ben? Let you go, let you crawl back to those demons, and just forget about Alec? About you?" Dean barked.

Ben's expression never changed. "No. I don't. But I do propose that you listen to me. I have a plan, and it could benefit from some outside help. If you would stop behaving like idiots, maybe I might believe that I've found that outside help and my unit and I can move forward."

"Your unit?" Sam asked. Sam really hated the self-assured tone Ben had. The kid was cuffed to a chair, yet running the show.

"My family, the other transgenics I was raised with," Ben said. "We were trained to fight together and rely on one another. And we're getting out of Manticore, and I want to get Alec out too. If it had just been a matter of my group escaping, I wouldn't need you. But getting Alec out as well makes it harder."

"Why?" Sam pressed. "And… and why do you care about him? You would have just met him four years ago! Forgive me, but you don't seem like a loving nurturing guy who's gonna take to somebody just because they look like you."

Ben narrowed his eyes. "He is my twin brother. He was brought to me after he'd arrived and had his first session in PsyOps. It was my responsibility to help him adapt and grow. If he failed, we were both punished. He tried harder, because he didn't want me to suffer for him. I made him better, because I knew he wanted to be. He told me about the outside, told me what it was like to be free. What the people on the outside just have and take for granted. I shared with my unit and it made us dream of being free ourselves. Made us come up with a plan. For that, I love Alec."

Sam reached out, hand falling short of touching Ben's shoulder. Ben noticed, frowning at Sam and Sam shrugged. "How is Alec?" No one had asked that. He was afraid to hear the answer. Was Alec like Ben now, cold and robotic? Sam shivered and rubbed at his arms.

Ben's mouth twitched and he looked away. "Angels and demons talk about concepts like fate and destiny. I never really thought much about it. Those are things that would never apply to a transgenic. We're soldiers. We'll always take orders—but maybe not anymore. I think maybe it was fate that assigned my unit to the battle today, so that Castiel would find me and bring me here."

Sam's heart wrenched. "Is something wrong with Alec?"

Ben sighed. "The twins from the outside, the ones who were found and brought back." Ben shook his head. "They don't last long. They can't adapt. They're behind us in skill and competence. The schedules to get them up to par are rigorous. Many die in the field or are terminated and harvested as they are useless to Manticore's mission."

"Terminated and harvested," Dean shouted. "Why the fuck take them back if you're just gonna kill them?"

"They were originally intended for harvest," Ben reminded Dean, matter-of-factly. "They weren't meant to gain consciousness. They were to be kept in bio-wombs until organs or tissue were needed."

Sam's stomach lurched and he tasted the Caesar salad he'd had for lunch at the back of his throat. "Are they harvesting Alec, now?"

Bobby grunted and Dean smacked his fist down on a nearby table.

The tension in the room was so stale and tight, Sam wanted to crack a window.

"Answer him, kid," Bobby said in a gravelly voice.

"No," Ben said. "Not yet anyway. Alec is… he's good at what he can do; he's a specialist really."

"Good at what he can do? What can he do?" Sam backed up until he ran into Bobby's small overstuffed couch. He flopped down. Dad had taken Alec on hunts, letting him do small stuff. He had excellent aim, he was fast, strong, agile, but Ben was probably all of those things and more. What was Alec so good at?

"Manticore uses him for infiltration, espionage," Ben said.

"Demons need spies?" Dean snorted. "Who does he spy on?"

Ben rolled his eyes. "Not everything is about angels and demons. Manticore is a multimillion dollar non-government operation. We are hired by the US government to do military functions."

"Military functions?" Dean laughed. "Little punk like you been on the front lines?"

"Yes," Ben said. "Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Columbia, Russia. Special units. We're quick and efficient."

"And Alec?" Sam pushed.

"Doesn't go out to fight like I do," Ben said. "He's planted in boarding schools and private institutions. He befriends and, or, seduces offspring of important marks."

Sam didn't like where this was going. "And then what?"

Ben's eyes were dark. "He is invited closer to the mark where he can observe, steal and report information."

Sam frowned. "That's it?"

Dean plopped down on the couch beside Sam, leaning forward to stare hard at Ben.

Ben leveled his gaze on Sam. "And depending on the mission, he removes the mark."

"Removes," Bobby muttered, scratching his beard. "You talking about killing, boy?"

Ben tugged at the cuffs, the legs and arms of the chair grunted. "Yes. Alec is a skilled assassin."  
Sam swallowed hard, trying to keep himself from vomiting. He felt Dean tense up, heard him suck in a breath.

"Shit," Dean said. "Shit."

Sam shook his head. "Humans, the marks are humans, not demons?"

Ben hummed. "Some may be possessed humans."

"But if you work for demons, why kill someone demon possessed?" Bobby asked.

"Not all demons work for the same boss," Ben said. "Mephistopheles doesn't like competition and will sometimes accept bids that involve going after humans possessed by demons working for the late Azazel, Crowley, and more recently Lilith."

"You sure are forthcoming with this information, kid," Bobby growled, coming closer to the chair and inspecting the cuffs. "We got you chained up, but I gotta feeling you can get outta this iff'n you want. Am I right?"

Ben blinked, actually showing another emotion: slight surprise. The expression faded and he pulled at his right cuff, hard. The arm of the chair snapped clean off. He waved his hand, then pulled the left. Snap. Sam glanced at Dean who outright stared as Ben then worked to completely remove the cuffs. Bobby stepped back, hand going to the knife in his back pocket.

"If I wanted to attack you, I would have already," Ben said. "I want to enlist you." He dropped the cuffs and the chair arms on the floor with a thud and a clank. "Will you help us?"

"You and Alec, you mean."

"Alec, myself, and my unit," Ben said. "It is—as Alec would put it—a package deal."

Sam looked to Dean, then Bobby, trying to read their grim expressions. There was no doubt in his mind that they were going to vote to save Alec, but could they really trust Ben?

"Kid," Dean started, standing up and moving to Ben's chair to stand close to Bobby. "You're—well, look at ya. You're family. I know you don't know me and Sammy and Bobby for shit, but you're one of us. And I wanna trust you, but it's a lot to take in. I don't know how you can prove that you're not putting us on."

Sam's eyes widened as Ben's face fell—crestfallen. Now that was an Alec expression.

"I don't know how to prove it to you either," Ben said. "But if you're not going to help, then you'll have to let me go, if you want Alec to remain safe."

Sam jerked to attention, jumping to his feet and going to stand between Dean and Bobby. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, when Alec returns from his latest assassination mission, he'll be broken again," Ben said flatly. "He can't deal with it all mentally. After every mission, he's put in PsyOps for re-indoctrination and locked in solitary. Then I see what I can do to fix him when they're done. I think—I think they've about had it with him. If he wasn't so good at his job, he'd have harvested years ago. I have to be there to help him get it together, or they'll terminate him."

Sam shuddered and grabbed Dean's shoulder. "Dean…" Hell, Sam wished one of the demon powers he'd inherited was to read minds. He needed to know if Ben was telling the truth. If they put him in Bobby's panic room and just held him there, or if they let him go but chose not to run into a could be trap, what would that mean for Alec? Should they take the chance?

Dean groaned and rubbed his eyes. "Bobby?" Dean's voice was unsure.

Bobby huffed and grunted. "Why don't you tell us where this place is, what kinda plans you got, and how you think we can factor into them, boy. Then, Sam, Dean and me will talk about it, alone, and decide."

Ben nodded. "Fair enough. I'll need paper and pen to map out a few things for you. And, if it's not too much trouble… can I have something to drink?"

* * *

 _Gillette, Wyoming 2009_

"…dealing with this defective peace of shit clone!"

"…should just harvest him. We got soldiers needing skin grafts and eyeballs, and we're keeping this…"

"…did a damn good job! Who else could have gotten us this information…"

"… the pictures alone…"

"…need someone like him! This face and possible physique alone…. When he's older, we could use him to…"

Voices swirled and funneled around Alec. His body was hot and cold, so hot, at one point, he'd seized, and then so cold that he'd forgotten how to breathe. His muscles ached like dull blades sawed into the meat, his bones burned. _Sick. Disgusting. Failure. Scum_.

His heart thudded, sluggish and heavy his chest. His throat trembled as he swallowed sour bile from a hollow stomach. He'd vomited until he'd tasted blood. Someone had poured water down his throat, forcing him to choke it back. It had erupted out of him before it'd had a chance to touch his stomach, and he'd tasted blood again.

Hammers pounded in his skull, brain a puddle of ooze that remembered nothing but her face. Her sweet, heart-shaped face, dark hair and big brown eyes. Her teasing smile and bright laughter. The feelings she'd brought out of him with each giggle. Love. He'd wanted to love her. Maybe he had. Maybe… but: _what was her name?_

Words flashed through his mind, trying to puncture his brain.

Obedience.

But: _what was her name?_

Loyalty.

But: _her name?_

Manticore.

But: _her_

Obedience.

His throat was swollen, raw flesh rubbed together, choking him. He couldn't breathe. Lungs blocks of lead. _Can't…_

"… pull him out! Dammit…"

"…don't give him that! The order doesn't come from you!"

"…useless…"

"Bag him! Keep the paddles charged."

Sharp sting in his arm. Something hot and heavy over his face. Air. Cold. Hot. The taste of blood. Swimming. Drowning. Her face.

 _Her name…_

 _Rachel._

"…monitor him."

"…quarantine… solitary…"

 _Her name was Rachel._

Alec hated solitary. He hated being alone, and they knew it. They knew how to make him do what they wanted, knew how to make him feel like he didn't care anymore. He wished he didn't care. Why couldn't he be like everyone else, like Ben? Ben didn't give a shit about anybody but his unit, and Alec. Ben said screw strangers; they're not family, they're not friends. They don't matter. But… but Ben had never known anybody but who he'd met in Manticore. Ben didn't know about going to school and making friends with the guy across from him. He didn't know about brothers and uncles that weren't really uncles that slipped you forbidden sips of beer and bought you extra candy. All Ben knew was training and fighting and death.

Alec pressed his knuckles into his eyes. They wanted him to forget it all, to forget everything he knew about really being Outside. Forget his family and friends and giving a damn about what happened to other people. But Alec was a… what was his last name? _Oh god, oh god, oh god, what's my last name?_

 _Winchester._ He was Alec Winchester, and his dad said that his job in life was to help other people, because that was what the family did. His family.

Sometimes, he saw their faces. Dad, Sam, Dean. Dean who looked like him. Dean, his genetic donor. That's why he looked like him so much. He was a clone of… No. No. Dean was his brother. _My brother_.

His head pounded. He knocked it against the padded wall, over and over. He wanted to beat the pain out. But it was always there. Always. He fell back, stumbling until his legs gave way and his butt hit the padded floor. Darkness. Not a drop of light. No sound. Nothing but his voice, if he could make it come out. But his throat was too dry. If he tried to speak, to scream, he choked. They'd taken his voice.

If he couldn't talk, couldn't… couldn't think or remember to feel… Because he wasn't supposed to feel. Wasn't supposed to talk unless commanded. Wasn't supposed to have a past that wasn't Manticore. The Outside he'd known wasn't real. There was no family. He wasn't Alec…

 _Oh god, oh god, what's my last name, what's my last name…_

 _Alec… Alec… X5494… X5-494…._

Dark. It was too dark. He was lost in a void of nothing. There was no Outside. If he wanted out of here, Manticore would save him. They'd get him out, because there was no Outside. No family and friends. No Dad, Sam, Dean…

 _Rachel._

 _The mark's name had been Rachel. She was a mark. I don't care about her._

His head throbbed. He hated the dark, he hated being alone. He hated caring. So, why did he? Manticore didn't want him to. He'd be better if he didn't.

But no. _Dad said…_

There was no Dad.

Just the dark, and the quiet, and his head heart. His body burned, his muscles ached. He clenched his teeth as a violent tremor shook his frame. He sprawled on his back, rolling onto his side before a seizure ripped through him.

His mind floated, awareness leaving him.

 _My name is…_

 _Oh god, oh god, oh god, what's my name?_

Fire. Ice. Pain. Dark. Quiet. Pain.

Dark.

* * *

Author's Note: I know that last part was weird, but we had to get to Alec sometime, :D. What'd you think? Like it? Hate it? Don't care about it either way? Any way you liked it, let me know. Please review! Take care!


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Hey there! If you're here, I hope it means you're enjoying the story, but it's okay if you're just skipping around too. :D. Thank you, Donkey, for your in depth reviews! I love reading them! And... on to the story!

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Chapter 5

 _Sioux Falls, South Dakota 2009_

Dean sat across from Ben, watching him put away his sixth helping of bacon and eggs. The kid ate more than Dean and Sam combined and wasn't slowing down. Bobby turned off the stove, pouring the last of the eggs he'd scrambled onto a greasy plate that held the last serving of bacon. The entire kitchen smelled like IHOP. Not a bad smell, in Dean's opinion, but he wasn't used to Bobby's house smelling like a housewife's kitchen. Sure, Bobby cooked some, but he'd really gone out of his way to feed Ben.

Dean couldn't bite back a grin at Ben using a slice of bacon to sop up runny egg yolk and shoving it in his mouth. It was like the kid had never eaten real food before. A cold nail dug its way between Dean's ribs. Maybe he hadn't. "What do they feed you in that Manticore place?"

Ben barely took a break from chewing. "Mmm… nutrient bars, protein shakes, vitamin flakes, sometimes meats and vegetables, milk…"

"Any of it good?" Dean pressed.

Ben swallowed a gulp of milk. "Not like this. This food… it tastes…" He shoveled more eggs in his mouth.

Bobby laughed as he wiped down the kitchen counters and brought the plate of serving plate of bacon and eggs to the table. "Like salt, pepper, butter and grease?"

Ben nodded, mouth full. "It's good."

Bobby patted Ben's shoulder and Dean didn't miss the slight stiffening of Ben's thin shoulders. Touching made Ben uncomfortable, so Dean didn't try it much. He felt bad though. This little brother grew up without hugs and tickles and games. No toys, no storybooks, no playgrounds or love. Except for that unit he kept talking about and Alec, Ben didn't seem to care about anybody. When he spoke, his voice and face stayed so detached. Even when he talked about escaping and having a life outside of that hellhole Manticore, it wasn't with a twinkle in his eyes or a smile in his voice. Hell, the kid barely put a smile on his mouth and when he did, it wasn't to express that he was happy or something was funny.

And it shouldn't have been like that. They should have had both Alec and Ben with them from the start. How dare that Sandeman guy free Alec and not tell Dad about Ben. Maybe they could have saved him too. But dammit, Dean was going to save him now. After a long talk, he and Bobby and Sam had decided they were going to go along with Ben's plan—though it sucked that it didn't really involve them doing too much. Ben and his people would work the magic, Sam, Dean and Bobby were just getaway car drivers.

Ben not only wanted to get his friends and Alec out, but he had plans to blow the place afterward. The plans were intricate and complicated. Something Ben readily admitted he hadn't come up with on his own, and something that had taken years to ruminate and perfect. After Ben was through, there would be no more designer babies and organ harvests; no more super kid armies working for demons. Everything trapped in that place was gonna get the chance to run.

"Well," Bobby said, sitting down next to Dean, "boy, you done flattered me so much about my cooking that I think I might be into making you my special grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch."

Ben wiped his mouth on the back of his sleeve—or rather Dean's sleeve. Ben only had the fatigues Castiel had brought him here in. After a shower, Dean loaned Ben some clothes. Sammy's would be way too big, and anything Alec had owned was way too small. A pang in his stomach made Dean wish for Mylanta, but he knew an antacid wouldn't help him as guilt rode him like its bitch.

"Grilled cheese sandwich?" Ben asked. "I've never had cheese."

"Never had cheese?" Bobby shook his head. "Never had bacon before now either. It's time to teach you about food, boy."

Dean sat like an outsider looking in, as Bobby quizzed Ben on food. He loved how casual Bobby acted with Ben, though he knew the older man was just as rattled as he was, and guilty. But man, Dean and Dad had looked everywhere for Alec before they'd decided he was probably dead. Kidnapped kids usually turned up dead. They'd… Dean had always held out hope, but they stopped actively looking for Alec, especially when the police had closed the case.

* * *

 _Salem, Oregon 2004_

"Don't open this door for anybody, you hear me?" Dean chuckled as Dad lectured Alec. He turned around to see Dad checking the salt round in the riffle before holding it out to Alec.

"You know how to use this," Dad said. "Don't hesitate if you think a demon's getting in. You ain't gonna kill a human with a blank full of salt."

Alec sighed and slumped in the chair he sat in. He shut the lid on his laptop, where he'd been making money-spreadsheets, before taking the gun. He set the rifle's safety and got up, carrying it over to the tiny couch in front of the TV. "Okay, for the millionth time, Dad. I've stayed home by myself before!"

Dean smirked, coming to over to couch. He helped himself to the paper bowl of popcorn on the coffee table. Alec placed the gun beside the bowl.

"Dad, relax," Dean said, crunching on kernels. "We're not even gonna be gone long. If you're that worried, we should just bring him with us."

"Yeah!" Alec was on his feet, eyes bright with excitement. "I did good last time! I shoot way better than Dean!"

Dean shoved Alec and laughed when the kid flopped back onto the couch. Kid was a brat, but he was right. His aim was better than Dean's; hell, it was better than Dad's. Kid could be a Grade A sniper.

"Yeah, and last time you ran off too," Dad said. "I told you to stay by the truck."

Alec scratched the back of his neck, eyes wide with fake innocence. Oh, Dean knew that look well. He'd used it plenty of time when he was Alec's age, and Alec was still a carbon copy of him—though… for lack of a better word… prettier. Still no freckles, hair a dark blond, eyes a pure green that didn't shift to hazel. "I thought the monster got you guys. You were gone!"

"And you were supposed to get in that truck and call for help!" Dad yelled. "I gave ya that phone for a reason. Had two hunters on standby in case we got in over our heads. They woulda been to you in minutes."

True. Dean was pissed about that too. Alec could have gotten hurt, killed, for trying to play hero. Though, he'd come through. Cool as a cucumber, he'd shot that ghoul's head right off. And Dean couldn't complain, because that same ghoul had him on the ground about to take a bite and Dad was still coming to after being thrown into a tree.

"Because you can't listen, you can't come," Dad said. "You ain't big enough to be fighting. You gotta wait…"

"Until I'm thirteen," Alex grumbled. "Fine."

Thirteen was still too young in Dean's opinion. Yeah, he had been younger when he'd started helping Dad, but Alec was just too little to do more than just salting and burning. Sammy hadn't started helping more until he was thirteen, but Sammy had dragged his feet. Alec was getting into it earlier because he was eager. He'd been helping with the research since he was five and proved to Dad that supernatural creepiness wouldn't give him nightmares. He'd been better at it than Sammy, more thorough. And Sammy had been kinda jealous, though he shoulda been happy. It meant more free time for him.

Dean sighed, thinking about the hole in his life made by Sammy. He wondered how Stanford was treating him. He knew Sam was kicking academic ass, though. His little brother had always been smart and ambitious when it came to school. But Dean wanted to know how Sam was getting on life-wise. Did he have a girlfriend, was he happy? Sam never answered the phone when Dean called, but he answered for Alec. That made Dean feel a little better. Someone in the family was talking to Sammy, and Alec wasn't so sad. Yet, Alec didn't share much of what he learned from Sam. He just told Dean that Sam was okay.

Dad patted the top of Alec's head and leaned down to give him the rare kiss on the forehead. "Be good, okay. We'll be back, and we _will_ call before we come in. Understand?"

Alec nodded, rubbing the kiss off his face with a slight scowl. Dean laughed, Dad was a puzzle when it came to Alec. With Sam and Dean, he was a drill sergeant, with Alec he was still a sergeant, but one without teeth. Maybe it was because Alec was the baby, like a real baby. He was so much younger than Sam and Dean.

"Dad, I'm ten, not two," Alec grumbled. He settled in with his popcorn and turned up the TV. Dean had taken him to Blockbuster and let him rent a couple of movies. Alec loved slapstick comedy and Freddy Krueger.

"Yeah, yeah." Dad ruffled Alec's hair. "Dean, come on." He marched to the door.

Dean smirked and stole another handful of popcorn. "Try to get to bed at a decent time, kiddo, but keep that phone under your pillow."

Alec rolled his eyes. "I could hear it if I was in the shower and it was under the couch. I'll be fine. Great. Fantastic. Better than pizza. Oh, hey, can I make two?"

Dean shook his head at his baby brother's appetite. "I bought you three." There had been a sale at the store on Red Baron's. He wasn't spoiling Alec, not really.

Alec beamed at him and jumped up to give Dean a quick hug. "Come back in one piece, okay? And maybe I'll save you a pizza."

"Yeah, whatever kiddo." Dean mused Alec's thick hair. "See ya in a bit."

Dean followed Dad out of the room, tossing one last look over his shoulder at Alec. "Come bolt the door, brat, and fix the salt!"

"Yeah, yeah."

Dean had shut the door, not knowing that last glance would be the final time he saw Alec.

* * *

 _Salem, Oregon 2005_

"The police closed the case," Dad said as he walked by Dean.

Dean was sprawled on the couch, staring at an episode of _Gilligan's Island_ he'd seen ten times. "What?" His voice cracked. He sat up "They…? Is he…?"

"They don't know," Dad said. "They just said that the trail is cold. They'll bring it back up if any new evidence is found, but they're not looking anymore."

"But what about that lady who…"

"She's done, Dean. It's been six months. Unless we hire someone private, no one but us is looking anymore." Dad threw his phone on the floor and kicked the cheap bookcase beside the television set. "Dammit."

Dean got up, pacing the small room. "Then we'll hire someone. Get some more hunters on it. We'll keep looking. We need to call Sam too. Get him out there."

"No!" Dad shouted, crossing the room and grabbing Dean by the bicep. "Nobody's calling Sam. Let him stay where he is. You leave the family, you stay gone. Besides… he's making a way for himself. Don't ruin it for him."

Dean stared. Dad was pissed beyond belief at Sam's college decision, but now… now was when he finally admitted that Sammy going away was a good thing. Now that they needed Sam. "Sam would want to know!"

"Then why didn't he call us when Alec stopped calling him, huh?" Dad demanded. "You think I didn't know who Alec was talking to just about every other day?"

Dean blinked, a little surprised, yeah, because Dad could be oblivious when it came to kids, his own especially. "Maybe he thought you finally got to Alec and made him stop calling. I don't know, Dad." Dean pulled out of Dad's grasp. "So, what now?"

Dad sighed, deep and weary, as he headed to the fridge and pulled out a beer. It was only 1:00 in the afternoon, but Dad had beer for breakfast now. "Now, we move on."

"We… what?" Dean stormed over, snatching Dad's beer. "You want to leave Salem? I thought you wanted to stay here, base operations close, in case Alec comes back. So, the police could find us, if…"

"He ain't coming back, Dean," Dad said, opening the fridge for another beer instead of fighting Dean.

"What the hell do you mean?" Dean took a swig of the beer and almost spit it out. Cheap crap. They'd been in Salem since Alec was kidnapped. Dad hadn't wanted to leave. They'd barely taken any hunting jobs. All of their time had been consumed by looking for Alec. Dad called up every connection he had, but Alec had left no trail.

Dad had thought it was demons at first. When they'd come home that night, the salt line in front of the door was scattered. There'd been a fight. The TV was broken, the couch overturned, table shattered, paper plates, popcorn everywhere. But no blood. No sulfur scent. Nothing left behind that screamed demon. So, Dad had called the police. Somebody had kidnapped Alley. Probably been staking the place out for weeks, and couldn't wait for Dean and Dad to leave.

Dammit. Dean should have paid more attention. He should have talked Dad into bringing Alley with them, something. Instead, they'd left him. Dean had left him. He shut his eyes, imaging Alec. He was so small, too little for ten, and pretty as a girl. What if some perv had him? Dean wanted to find who took his brother and string them up. Killing them would be too nice, nah, Dean wanted to torture them, for six months, for the hell they'd put him through and for whatever crap they were doing to Alec.

"We're leaving, Salem, Dean," Dad said. "We need to get back on the hunt."  
"And we'll look for Alley while we take jobs," Dean said with a nod. "Yeah, no sense in us sticking around here. The cops gave up."

"No, Dean," Dad said solemnly. He sat down on a patchwork armchair and drank his beer like he was the only person in the room for a while. Dean stared at his father, John Winchester, who looked the perfect picture of a broken old man, older than Dean had ever seen him look. The shabby motel room around him set the tone for the depressing scene he painted.

"What do you mean no?" Dean asked quietly.

"I mean, Alec's not coming back to us," Dad said slowly. He stared out into space. "After all this time…" He shook his head. "I know who took him."

Dean leaped across the room to grab Dad's collar. "What? Then why are we sitting here! What's wrong with you?!"

Dad shook his head again and gazed at Dean, eyes bright. "Dean, I need you to sit down so I can explain something to you. You're gonna think it's crazy, and you're gonna think I'm crazy. But you have to trust me, and really think about what I'm saying to you. Okay?"

"What the fuck, Dad?!"

"Okay?" Dad pressed, his voice taking on a Marine edge.

Dean, so used to taking orders, felt the need to say "Yessir." Instead, he took his place on the couch again, adjacent from Dad. "Talk."

And Dad had told Dean what he knew about the cult called Manticore and how he'd really gotten Alec. And Dean had called him crazy and had shouted and raged, until… until he thought about it. Thought about it hard.

Alec wasn't a normal kid.

Alec was…

"And, so, we're giving up on him?" Dean breathed.

"They'll never let us find him," Dad said, finishing his beer. "He's gone, Dean."

* * *

 _Sioux Falls, South Dakota 2009_

"He's gone, Dean."

Dean stared at Bobby as the man burst into the guest room Dean slept in when he stayed over. "Come again?" Dean rubbed sleep out of his eyes. It was too early. "Who's gone?"

"The boy!" Bobby said. "Just packed up and gone. Folded up those clothes you loaned him, put up the blanket that was on the couch for him, and took a bunch of food and water."

Sleep fog faded as Bobby's words set it. "Ben left?" Dean was on his feet, running out into the hall and down the stairs to see for himself. The living room was neat and empty. The kid had cleaned up after himself, not that he'd been messy during his three-day stay. "What the hell?"

Dean searched the house. Maybe Ben was hiding out. Maybe he'd gone out to make a supply run and was coming back. But no, common sense said the boy had cut and run. But why, Dean wondered. They'd had a plan, or rather, Ben had a plan and he'd worked Dean, Sam and Bobby into it. They were going to be a team, burn down Manticore, save Alec. Dean had trusted Ben. With him gone, what did it mean? Should they be jumping ship, leaving the salvage yard and going to ground?

A scrap of paper sticking out of a randomly placed book caught his eye. Dean moved closer to the kitchen table, frowning at the bible that sat in one of the chairs. He picked it up, pulling at the slice of paper. It was blank, a bookmark… Dean blinked at the words scrawled in pencil in the margins of the first page of Paul.

 _I promised Alec that I'd get him home one day. Thank you for assuring me that his home still exists. Don't look for us; we'll find you when it's safe._

Dean stared at the words, reading them over and over. It must have been Ben's handwriting, because Dean didn't recognize the penmanship.

Dean growled and threw the bible on the floor. "Dammit!"

Bobby came into the kitchen with a bedraggled Sam.

"He's really gone?" Sam demanded, eyes wild.

Dean nodded. "Yeah, left us a goodbye note and everything. Said for us not to look for him."

"What?" Sam asked. "But the plan…"

"Was all bullshit, I guess," Dean said. "He never intended for us to go anywhere and help him. Bet he didn't even give us the right coordinates for the place. Montana? Bet Manticore's set up in Detroit, or Memphis. Who knows? Little shit. We shoulda threw him in the panic room."

"Where's the note?" Sam asked, looking around.

"Bible… Book of Paul, first page." Dean kicked the table leg and rubbed his temples. "Shit."

"You think he was lying about all that stuff he told us about Manticore and Alec?" Bobby asked, looking as frazzled as Dean felt for a moment, before pulling it together. "If he was, then we need to pack up."

"Nah," Dean shook his head. "Nah." He didn't know why but, "I think he was legit about everything but wanting our help. His note said—"

"He was testing us," Sam murmured. Dean whirled around to see Sam holding the bible, fingers tracing Ben's words. "He wanted to know if we still wanted Alec back, even after all that horrible stuff he told us."

Dean cussed again. "Manipulative little bastard."

"Manipulative little Winchester, you mean," Bobby grunted. "He's related to you all, that's for damn sure."

"How much of a head-start do you think he got?" Dean grumbled as he stomped through the kitchen to get his boots and jacket. He was going after that kid.

Bobby shook his head. "I don't know, six hours maybe, if he left after we all went down."

"Shit."

They split up. Sam riding with Dean in the Impala, Bobby in one of his trucks, driving around, looking for traces of Ben. Sam watched Dean warily from the corner of his eye. Dean's expression was grave and he hadn't said a word to Sam in an hour. His knuckles were white on the steering wheel.

"Dean," Sam said. "Hey, talk to me."

Dean grunted, eyes on the road. They'd driven out of South Dakota, spoken to folks at gas stations, convenience stores, any places a kid on foot might have stopped. And after a while, they assumed Ben wasn't on foot anymore. Maybe he'd caught a bus or stolen a car, or hitchhiked. The fact remained that he was gone without a trace, just like Alec had been.

Dean pulled over on the side of the road put the car in park.

"Dean…"

Dean got out and slammed the door. Sam winced as Dean hurled obscenities at the sky and pounded the roof with what sounded like the flat of his hand. Pissed, but still taking care not to hurt his stupid car. Sam got out too.

"Dean."

"Shut up, Sammy!"

Okay. Sam was quiet for a while as Dean shouted some more. Cars drove by, curious drivers and passengers gazing at them. One car slowed and the driver's side window rolled down. "You boys need help?"

Sam smiled. "No, no we're fine. Just… got some bad news. Thanks."

The driver nodded and moved along.

"Dean, let's talk," Sam tried again.

"What's there to talk about? That kid was our last link to getting Alec back, to knowing where he is!" Dean shouted. "How we gonna find him now? Dad and me had to give up! Then here that Ben kid comes with the answer and he takes it with him! To what? To go back to some son of bitch demon? Fuck. I believed him! That plan of his. I was gonna do it!"

"We all were," Sam said gently. "But Dean, his note…"

"That fuckin' note…"

"He said he wanted to make sure Alec had a home still," Sam said slowly. "I think he means to bring Alec back himself. He and his friends had a whole plan worked out, and they were probably gonna do it with or without outside help. He was playing us to see how we felt. I mean…" as he spoke Sam got more inspired by his line of reason "why bring Alec back to a place that doesn't want him, won't fight for him? He was feeling us out." Yes, Sam was very sure of that was what happened. He recalled Ben's calculating expressions, his quiet observations after he made statements. They'd been played all right, but maybe for good reason. Sam didn't think Ben was going to set demons on their home, or report for duty with intention for long term stay.

"Dean, I… trust Ben," Sam said finally.

Dean glared at him.

"You did before too," Sam said.

"That was before he—"

"So, he wasn't all the way honest," Sam said. "But think about who he is and how he was raised? Would you readily trust us if you were him?"

"We're his fucking brothers!"

"No," Sam said evenly. "We're Alec's brothers. Ben doesn't know us."

"Family trumps all that!" Dean shouted.

"Ben has a different family," Sam said. "Dean, he doesn't know us, didn't trust us. He had to find out."

"And you think he did that?" Dean rumbled. "If he found us out, he wouldn't have…"

"He found out enough to know we're good people," Sam said. "I think he's gonna try to escape that place with his unit and Alec, and… I think we'll see them again."

Dean smacked the roof of the car again and cussed. "You sound really sure of yourself there, Sammy."

"I want to be," Sam said firmly. "With so much shit going down, I need to be sure of something."

Dean sighed and clenched his fists. "I need a drink."

Sam frowned at his brother. Not liking the defeated slump to his shoulder or the heaviness in his aura that had been there since Hell. Dean wasn't bouncing back and it was only getting worse. Sam didn't know what to do for him, except to make sure he wasn't alone for too long.

"It's a little early for alcohol, Dean," Sam said, knowing he'd be brushed aside. He still had to say it. Dean drank too much, ate too little.

Dean narrowed his eyes. "When's that ever stopped me?" He got back into the car and started the engine. Sam's eyes widened and he ducked back inside the car quickly, afraid Dean might drive off without him.

* * *

Author's Note: Well, what do you think? Like it? Hate it? Don't care about it either way? Any way you liked it, let me know. Please review! Take care!


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: Hello! I hope everyone's doing well! Thank you so much for your review, Donkey. No, Ben is not ready to trust strangers with his family, even if those strangers claim to be family too.

Please enjoy this next part.

* * *

Chapter 6

 _Gillette, Wyoming 2009_

"I met them, Alec." Ben kept his voice soft as he spoke to his brother. After his latest session in PsyOps and a week stint in solitary, Alec was dazed and quiet. During these recovery periods, the guards temporarily let Alec room with Ben in a different bunk. It was special treatment, Ben knew, but Manticore really valued Alec's skills. They tried to train them into Ben, thinking Alec's personable traits could be hereditary, but Ben was no natural when it came to dealing with people. Alec was charming, winsome, strangers from the outside liked him on sight. There was just something about him.

When Ben had met Dean and Sam, Ben studied both brothers, trying to see if maybe they had what Alec had, and maybe Dean did a bit. The brothers. Ben chanced a hand on Alec's narrow shoulder. His twin had lost more weight since Ben had seen him last. He was fading away. He wouldn't need to be terminated, he would just die on his own.

"Alec, Dean and Sam are worried about you. They want to find you and bring you home," Ben kept his voice a whisper so low surveillance wouldn't pick it up, but he knew Alec could hear him. "Your uncle, Bobby, was with them. Remember I said I'd take you home one day. I got to make sure that they wanted you. They do. I could see in their eyes that they thought you were dead. They wanted to break in here and get you right away. But you know it doesn't work like that, right? Those guys, they don't understand Manticore."

Alec blinked, red-rimmed eyes finally focusing on Ben. "Ben?"

"Did you hear me?" Ben asked slowly. "Do you want me to tell you again?"

Alec shivered, and Ben clutched his shoulder, counting the duration of Alec's shiver, needing to know if his brother was just cold or if it was a warning of seizures to come. Alec's body was cold, gooseflesh rose on his arms, though the room was of moderate temperature. Alec had trouble regulating his body heat at times and was prone to illnesses uncommon to X5's and seizures despite Tryptophan treatments, like some of the other twins. _Defective. Harvest material._ Ben shook his head. No. Alec was his brother.

"Are you okay?" Ben asked.

Alec nodded. "Sam and Dean want me?"

"Yes."

"But you told them about me?" he asked.

Ben nodded. "They know, and they want to burn Manticore."

Alec's face was gray. "They'll kill them. Manticore will kill…"

"Which is why I didn't tell them where this place is, not really," Ben said. "We're going through with the plan, and then I'm going to take you home."

"When?" Alec asked.

Ben gazed at Alec, taking in his thin frame and his sickly demeanor. Another mission would most likely kill him. There'd be nothing left for Manticore to salvage. They'd have to harvest him. Ben sighed and pulled Alec into a light hug, not caring what the cameras caught. They put Ben in here to help put Alec back together; Alec needed contact. It was the only thing that worked in getting him back on his feet after re-indoctrination.

"When, Ben?" Alec murmured.

"Soon," Ben said, feeling Alec's bones as he hugged him closer. "Very soon."

* * *

Author's Note: What'd you think? Like it? Hate it? Don't care about it either way? Any way you liked it, let me know. Please review! :D


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: Hey all! This is Part II, not a sequel, just a new part in their story because some time has passed since Chapter 6. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, Nouri, included. :D.

* * *

 **PART II**

Chapter 7

 _Middle of Nowhere, South Dakota 2010_

Zack always ended up driving, because he looked the oldest. Seth rode in the passenger seat, comparing Triple A road maps to the GPS. Ben and Alec sat in back, Alec asleep with his head against the window.

"I swear we were supposed to turn right at that last light," Seth muttered. "This GPS sucks. Recalculate this, you piece of crap!" He rolled down his window and pitched the GPS in the tall grass of the median.

"That was smart," Ben commented.

"It was," Seth agreed. "We'll use the road map. We're super soldiers. We got this."

Zack sighed heavily. "It might be time to switch cars. What do you guys think?"

Ben hummed to himself. They usually switched cars soon after they crossed state lines, trading out in Nevada and Utah, but they'd been in this old Toyota Camry since Nebraska. It was a good car with plenty of room, and not strange for a young guy to be driving with his friends. It also didn't smell like stale hamburgers and expired cigarettes as the last two cars had.

"I don't know," Ben said after a while. "I guess better safe than sorry, but I like this car."

"You like it because there's air conditioning," Seth snorted.

Ben shrugged. "Maybe." He glanced at Alec, his brother was pale and drawn, shadows under the hollows of his eyes. Alec did better when there was air conditioning. They'd had to pull over a few times for him to be sick in the last car that'd had no air conditioning.

"You sure these guys out where we're going want him, Ben?" Seth asked.

Ben looked to see Seth's eyes on Alec, his lip slightly curled. Ben growled. "Yes, they want him."

Seth shrugged. "It just… seems like we're dumping a problem off on em' is all."

Ben's anger bubbled. He punched Seth in the arm so hard the other transgenic yowled. "My brother is nobody's problem. If you ever say something like that again—"

"Woah!" Zack said. "Hey, cool it guys. We're in a moving car! Shut the hell up, Seth, and Ben… if you want to hit him, wait until we stop."

Seth glared at Zack, but nodded after a minute, turning back to look at Ben who stared daggers at him.

"Sorry, brother," Seth said.

Ben raised a brow, then put his attention back on Alec. His twin's eyes were open. He straightened up, stretching, wincing, then rubbing at his face.

"You okay?" Ben asked.

Alec gave him a heavy-eyed stare, his face sad and guilty. He'd probably heard Seth, but it wasn't anything new to him. A lot of Ben's unit thought of Alec as deadweight. They hadn't wanted to include him in their escape plan; that he'd been smuggled out with the team was Ben's doing. Ben had detoured to Alec's barrack and led him out with his team. When they'd initiated their plan, exposing the public to the existence of transgenics, and Manticore had set itself to self-destruct—Ben and his squad had made sure most of the transgenics inside had the chance to escape. Where they would go, Ben didn't know, didn't care. But he wasn't about to let Alec wander around lost, when his crew had a mapped path and plans for later.

"Here." Ben reached into the backpack at his feet and pulled out a bottle of water. "Drink this."

Alec took the water, twisting off the cap and sipping it slowly. Ben watched his hands for tremors. Alec's grip was firm.

"Where are we?" Alec asked, after a few sips. His voice was hoarse from sleep.

"South Dakota somewhere," Ben said. "We'll be in Sioux Falls in a few hours." He didn't know how to make his voice sound perky, but he wanted to cheer Alec up. His twin should be happy; he was going home, but Alec was still reeling from his last. He wouldn't tell Ben much about it, other than there'd been a girl, the mark had been her father, but she died instead. Ben suspected Alec cared a lot more about the girl than he let on. Something inside him had broken, maybe for good.

Alec nodded, setting the water between his thighs and letting his head roll back against the seat. "You're…"

"What?" Ben asked. "You want something to eat?"

Alec shook his head. "You're gonna stay, right? You won't just drop me off?"

"That's the plan," Ben said. "I'm going to stay with you until you settle in."

Ben saw Zack's shoulders tense at that. The older transgenic didn't like the idea of Ben separating from the unit. They'd been free of Manticore for two months. They'd driven a jagged line to California where they'd set up a base camp that they didn't live in in groups larger than five at any given span of time. They kept in small groups of at least three to four, staking out different parts of the state and building up safe houses. After a month of living Manticore-free, watching news about transgenics that resembled monsters running rampant through towns and keeping their heads down, Max had declared it was time to take her little sister home.

Max, Ben smiled lightly, thinking of his pretty, dark-haired sister. She had a living twin too, and she had understood Ben's need to get Alec, because she'd gone after Samantha. In her own group of four, Max had taken the wheel and headed off toward Texas where Samantha said her family lived last. Samantha had used a stolen cell phone to give the family a call to see if they were still in the same place, and if they stilled loved her.

A week after they'd left, Ben said it was time to take Alec home too. He'd been surprised when Zack, who usually stuck to base, had volunteered to go. But Zack was suspicious of Alec's brothers; they were involved with angels. It worried Ben a bit too, thinking that Alec may end up fighting again, but... his family would protect him: Dean, Sam, and Bobby.

"Maybe we could all stay for a little bit," Zack said. "Or at least Seth and I could stay in town for a while."

"We don't know how long it'll take," Ben said.

"Exactly," Zack said. "We can't just leave you alone like that."

"I won't be alone," Ben said.

"Without your unit to back you up," Zack said. "It's not right. We're supposed to stay in teams."

"It'll be fine," Ben said. "Stick with the plan. You two are going back to base after you drop us off. You have more safe houses to set up."

"I was thinking maybe we should have them all over," Seth said. "We could set some up in South Dakota."

"Not with just the two of you," Ben said. "You have to go straight back. That's how we do things. Zack…" Zack was the guy who pushed for the rules.

Zack grunted and turned the radio on. He liked listening to NPR, it was news all the time. Ben really wanted some music, but he didn't want to push Zack. Their de-facto field leader was already stressed.

"You guys didn't freak out so much about Max and Samantha," Ben said. "Max is staying with her sister until she settles."

"Samantha's not a…" Seth trailed off at Ben's poisonous glare.

"She's not a what?" Alec asked, not even looking at Seth. "A nut job? A loser?"

"Hey, stop that," Zack shot back. "And Seth, I thought I told you to shut up. Say the word, and I'll pull over so you can hit him, Ben."

Ben kept his fists in his lap, breathing deeply to calm himself. He was not going to hit Seth again, but he wanted to make him hurt for the things he kept saying about Alec.

"How you doing back there, Alec?" Zack asked, voice kind. "Your stomach okay?"

"Yeah," Alec muttered. "No shakes either."  
"Good," Zack said. "If we're not trading cars, then I don't want to have to stop for the next hour so—and that'll just be for gas. We're almost there."

Zack didn't sound happy or relieved.

Ben studied Alec's face. His brother leaned his face against the window again, closing his eyes. Ben slumped back against his chair, a mixture of emotions swirling inside him. He was still so happy to be free. No more orders, no more fighting and killing. He and his friends could laugh and shout and play and not be beaten. There were no more early wake-up calls or long drills. Just beautiful days filled with the purpose of building lives for themselves.

He was happy—until he thought about Alec. Alec worried him, scared him. He'd liberated Alec, but he felt like his brother was still trapped in that place. Maybe Dean and Sam wouldn't be able to rescue him either. Ben didn't know what to expect from Alec's family. Yes, they had definitely wanted Alec back, but how would they deal with Alec being so broken? Maybe they'd make it worse, and Ben would want to bring him back to base in California. He just didn't know. His anxiety grew at a sudden road sign, he made out the white letters on the green sign. They were faded and when the bright sunlight hit them the glare made it even harder to see… but there it was. Sioux Falls 132 miles.

 _You're almost home, Alec. I hope your brothers are there, because we sure didn't call first._

* * *

 _Sioux Falls, South Dakota 2010_

Sam started awake at the sound of Bobby's doorbell. He sat up, the book on his chest thumping onto the floor. He stared at the book on folklore for a moment, before the doorbell rang again. Sales people? Jehovah's witnesses? Demons and angels usually didn't ring the bell, and neither did Sheriff Mills for that matter. Sam scrambled to his feet, grabbing patting his back pocket for his silver knife and grabbing a water bottle of holy water off the coffee table, before heading for the door.

He kept his footsteps light and tried to get a glimpse of the guests through a curtained window before checking the peep hole. He frowned at the boys on the porch. Sandy haired, lean, medium height… _Oh God_!

Sam threw the door open, staring at two identical boys almost the spitting images of Dean at about fourteen or fifteen years old.

"Alec? Ben?" Sam asked, looking from either boy, not knowing who was who. They wore the same nervous expression. The thinner one on the left bit his lip, eyes going wide as his hands shook at his sides. Sam smiled at him. "Alley Cat?"

The boy launched himself at Sam so fast, Sam barely had time to catch him. "Oh God," Sam moaned, hugging Alec for all he was worth. He kissed his hair, pulled back to stare into his face, then crushed him to his chest again. "Are you okay? Look at you! Oh God." Tears escaped his eyes. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know you were gone for so long. And I didn't look for you, because Dean said… I'm so sorry. I never should have left you… never."

He mumbled sweet nothings for he didn't know how long, feeling Alec shudder and sob against him. "You're okay, now. Nothing's ever gonna get you again."

Sam finally looked beyond Alec, at Ben standing there on the porch looking both awkward and pleased. "You came home, Ben."

Ben blinked at Sam, face smoothing out into a mask of indifference. "Yes, I brought him home, but is it all right if I stay too? He's going to need me nearby for a while."  
Sam let out a half strained chuckled. "Of course you can stay, Ben." He stroked Alec's hair, and pushed out of the hug, but kept his arm around Alec's bony shoulders. "Come in! And uh… be glad Dean's not here. I think he might have clocked you, before inviting you in, Ben. What you did…" Sam shook his head.

Ben had the decency to duck his head. "I apologize, but it was necessary."

Sam nodded at the boy as he pulled Alec inside, shutting and locking the door after Ben followed.

"Excuse me for a moment?" Ben asked, then pulled a small cell phone out of his pocket and stepped into the parlor. Sam noticed a backpack slung low on his back.

Sam ruffed Alec's hair, and beamed at him. "You want something to eat? Something to drink? You wanna lay down, take a shower?"

Alec gave a shaky smile. "A glass of milk would be great, Sa-Sammy. And… where's Dean, and Bobby, and Dad? They not here?"

A trapdoor opened in Sam's gut and his stomach fell right through it. Dad. Alley wanted to know about Dad. No. No. He couldn't be the one to tell him, not now anyway. "Uh… they're out hunting. They'll be back tonight. But if I call em', I bet they'll come right now. You want that?"

Alec nodded and Sam kissed his forehead, noting that Alec didn't blush or shy away. The last time Sam had treated Alec this way, he was eight, and he'd kicked Sam for treating him like a baby.

"Okay," Sam said. "Let's get your milk first, and I'll call Dean."

Sam led Alec to the kitchen. It smelled faintly of the tuna fish Sam had made for lunch. He sat Alec down at the table while he went to the fridge for milk. "You want a sandwich too. You still hate tuna? Yeah, you probably do. What about peanut butter, buddy? Got some grape and raspberry jelly in here too."

"Not too hungry, Sammy," Alec said softly and Sam shut the fridge, carton of milk in hand, frowning at Alec. Alec not hungry? Had that ever happened before? Alec was a trash compactor, and Ben, from what Sam had seen from those two days he was there, was no different.

"You okay, there? You sick?" Now that Sam really took in his little brother, Alley didn't look so well. He was pale with dark circles under his eyes, and he'd been thin in that hug. Sam set the milk on the counter on his way back to Alec. He placed the back of his hand to Alec's clammy forehead. Alec had never been clammy before.

Alec sighed and shook his head. "I'm all right. Just really tired."

Sam rubbed his brother's back in slow circles. "You've always been a good little con artist, but I could always tell when you were lying. Do you feel sick? Do you need medicine? You know Bobby stockpiles antibiotics."

They'd never needed it for Alec though. He was always super healthy.

Alec pillowed his head on his arms. "I'm really just tired… and maybe a little nauseous from the car ride here. It's okay."

"Car ride here?" Sam asked, still rubbing Alec's back. "You guys hitchhike?" He hadn't even thought about how they'd gotten there. How… He frowned. Remembering Ben disappearing with a cell phone. Sam hadn't done any demon, shapeshifter tests on them at all. But… Sam rubbed Alec's shoulders and went back to the milk. He poured a glass and added a bit of holy water, waiting for Alec's answer.

"No," Alec said. "Ben's friends brought us."

"Ben's friends? His… unit?" Sam asked. "They just dropped you off?"

"Yeah," Alec said, raising his head to take the milk Sam offered. "They'll come back for Ben in a few months, I guess. He's just here to make sure everything goes all right."

Alec sipped the milk.

"What do you mean to make sure everything goes all right?" Sam asked. He fished a silver spoon from a drawer and went to the pantry for the peanut butter. There was an economy size jar of Smooth and Creamy Jiff. Sam stuck the spoon in the jar and brought it over to the table to, sliding it over to Alec. "I'll believe you're just tired and maybe just a little nauseous, if you eat something. Go on. I won't tell Bobby."

Bobby hated it when they ate out of jars. He'd spanked Alec and Sam for doing it.

Alec pouted, shadowed eyes holding Sam's. Sam thought he saw a spark of Alec recognizing something on Sam's face. He took the peanut butter, grabbing the spoon. "You're doing some kind of test for evil, aren't you? Silver, right?" He licked a bit of peanut butter off the spoon. "And you watered down the milk. It wasn't gross, but I tasted it. Holy water?"

Sam chuckled. "Yeah. You caught me, and… you pass." Sam sat down across from Alec, just looking at him. "It's so good to see you. I'm…" His eyes watered again.

Alec ate a little more peanut butter. "Don't say you're sorry. There's no sorry." He shrugged lightly. "It happened. I'm back, and… it's okay, right? You don't mind it?"

"That you're back?" Sam sounded incredulous. "Alec, you're home! I thought you were dead. Dean and Bobby too. We weren't looking because we thought you died years ago."

Alec stirred the peanut butter. "Ben told me that. He also told me that you guys know what I do—what I did, what I am." Bright green eyes bore into Sam. "Demons made me. I'm not even all human. Dad, and Dean and you and Bobby and Jim… you hunt things like me."

Sam growled under his breath. "Did Ben tell you we already knew some of it? Dad told Dean about Manticore and the guy who gave you to him. Did Ben tell you how we reacted to finding out about what Manticore had you doing?"

Alec nodded and wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand. "Y-yeah. B-but…"

"Not buts," Sam said. "Do you want to know what I am? What I did?" His voice dropped dangerously low. Alec tensed. "You know why my mom died?"

"Azazel," Alec said. "The way she died is his M.O. He creeps in to feed his marked babies his blood, so that they'll get powers." Alec frowned at Sam. "Do you have powers, Sam?"

Sam nodded. "Well, I do when I… do bad things."

"Like what?" Alec ate a little more peanut butter. "You kill people, on purpose?" His hand shook on the spoon.

Sam nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I killed people."

"That weren't demons?" Alec pressed.

"Alley, I killed them. I can exorcise demons, but… but to use my power, I need to drink demon blood. It makes me stronger, and… the blood's not demonic anymore if the demon's already been exorcised. I hurt people for power." Sam reached out to hand Alec's wrists. Alec let the spoon drop and looked down at the table, mouth trembling. "I'm… an addict. I can't be around the stuff. It tempts me. I hurt Dean. I'm the one who released Lucifer."

Alec's head snapped up. "You?"

Sam nodded. "He wants to possess me. Says I'm his vessel. That's what Azazel was really getting me ready for. Apparently, the Winchester bloodline is good for producing angel worthy vessels." He had a sudden thought. "It's probably why Manticore wanted Dean's DNA for you and Ben. Winchesters are cursed."

Alec stared, swallowing like he was going to throw up. "H-how will you keep him out? Lucifer, I mean. Can't he just find you wherever? The Manticore heads are afraid of Lucifer. They say he wants to destroy everything."

"Manticore is demon run," Sam said, confused. "Shouldn't they be on Lucifer's side?"

Alec shook his head. "Lucifer is an angel. A fallen one, but still an angel. He may have made demons, but he doesn't love them. The bosses said the only thing Lucifer likes is other angels. Everything else he'll burn. That's why sometimes units went out to fight demons too. Michael and Lucifer will end everything."

Sam tensed at the name Michael and Alec cocked his head.

"If Lucifer, a hella strong archangel wants you because you're a Winchester and Winchester's are made to hold angels, then…" Alec bit his lip. "Dean?"

Sam nodded, then terror struck. "Or maybe even you or Ben."

Alec shook his head. "I've got dirty blood, not all human. Angels don't inhabit science experiments. But how do you keep them from finding you? Wards aren't good enough."

"Sigils," Sam said. "On our ribs, carved by an angel." Sam grimaced, remembering the searing pain. "You and Ben will need them too. I don't care what you say, better safe than sorry. You're gonna need something for demon possession too. Dean and I have tattoos."

Alec's eyes lit up for the first time since he'd arrived, and Sam caught a glimpse of the little boy he'd been. "I can get a tattoo?"

Sam groaned. "Uh… let's see what Dean and Bobby say about it, okay?"

"And Dad?" Alec asked. "Bet Dad'll say no. Hey, you were gonna call, right, get them here?" Alec chafed his arms. "Think I can heat this up? I'm getting kinda cold." Alec picked up his milk glass and walked to the overhead cabinets, rooting through it for a mug. He moved about the kitchen like it was second nature, his home.

Sam sat frozen. There it was again: Dad. Sam wasn't going to tell him alone. No way. He instead watched Alec pour his milk into a mug and zap it in the microwave.

"There's chocolate syrup, if you want it," Sam said. "You're that cold? I can get you a sweater or blanket."

"And call Dad?"

"And call," Sam said. "Be right back."

Alec nodded, eyes on the milk revolving in the microwave. Sam left the kitchen, nearly colliding with Ben. "Woah!"

Ben regarded him coolly. "You're stalling."

Sam glared at Ben. "What do you know?"

"About what happened to John Winchester," Ben said in a low voice. "You're going to let Dean or Bobby tell him."

Sam felt like the biggest asshole, but, "Yeah. That's a job for Big Brother Dean. I can't. He's… what's wrong with him? Is he sick? He says he's tired and kinda carsick."

Ben sighed. "Not exactly. It _is_ why I'm staying with him. You won't know how to take care of him."

Sam bristled, but quieted at Ben's stern look. It was an odd expression to see on a young version of Dean's face. "He's not coping well with the last assassination mission he was on. He's not sleeping or eating well, and his body cannot repair itself properly. He hasn't been able to regulate his body heat, and the seizures are—"

"Seizures?" Sam broke in. "He has seizures?"

Ben nodded. "It's common in the X5 series; a glitch. Some of us are more prone than others. Alec's started after boot camp. His body wasn't used to the exertion and it triggered the imbalance."

"Shit!" Sam grunted. "Is there anything that place _didn't_ do to him?"

"Kill him," Ben said. "I didn't allow it to do that, because it would have." Ben shook his head. "He wouldn't have survived another mission. His mind and body would have shut down, and he'd have been harvested."

"What happened on his last mission?" Sam asked, hating to ask, not wanting to know or think about it. But he had to know; maybe he could help.

"He won't say much about it," Ben said. "A girl died, and I think he really cared about her. He has nightmares and wakes up in cold sweats. He's a little better since we've been free, but I'm hoping being here will—"

"Fix him?"

"Comfort him," Ben said. "Don't you have a big brother to call?"

Sam studied been for a moment, then stuck out a hand. Ben stared at it. "What's this?" Ben asked.

"I know you probably wouldn't accept a hug or anything, but uh…" Sam took his hand back, scratching the back of his neck. "It sounds like you came out of your way to bring Alec to us. You saved him. You're staying with him until he's better. And…" Sam cleared his throat. "I know you probably don't think of us this way, but I'm your big brother too, and so is Dean."

Ben shrugged. "Don't feel obligated to owe me any favors. Make your call." He brushed by Sam and headed into the kitchen. "What's that stuff you're eating?" Sam heard Ben ask.

"Peanut butter," Alec said. "Want some?"

A slight smile crossed Sam's lips at the thought of the twins sharing peanut butter. He sighed, smile slipping as he pulled out his phone to call Dean with good and horrible news.

* * *

Author's Note: Well, what did you think? Like it? Hate it? Don't care about it either way? Any way you liked it, let me know. Please review!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

 _Sioux Fall, South Dakota 2010_

Bobby cursed him six ways to Sunday all the way back to his house—a record breaking four hours—but none of that slowed Dean down. He parked the Impala, barely taking the keys out of the ignition before he ran up the steps of the porch and let himself inside.

"Alec!" he called, heart pounding. Yeah, he'd seen Ben and had a good idea of what Alec might look like now, but still. He needed to see it with his own eyes. "Alec, I'm here!"

Footsteps. Sam appeared at the top of the stairs. "Hey, Dean." His voice was soft, like a parent with a sleeping baby upstairs.

"Oh crap." Dean wanted to punch himself. "He sleeping?"

Sam nodded. "More like passed out. He's exhausted."

Worry rolled through Dean as he recalled Sam's description of their baby brother when he'd called to say both Alec and Ben were home. Taking the stairs by two's, Dean made it to Sam and then moved past him. "You put him in the room he used to sleep in?"

Sam nodded. "Ben's in there too."

Ben. Dean sighed. He didn't know what he thought about Ben. He was still pissed at the way the boy had taken off on them, but… he'd brought Alec back. The front door slammed closed and Bobby's grouchy voice echoed after him. "You didn't even get the car in the driveway good, boy!"

Dean grunted. He'd move the car later. He stalked past two doorways and hesitated at the closed one that used to be a junk room that Bobby had converted just for Alec years ago. Dean remembered feeling kinda jealous. He and Sam shared a guest room that Bobby always said was theirs, but it held a transient feeling for him, whereas Alec's room had always felt like the kid's space. But Alec had spent a lot more time at this house than Dean and Sam, because he got left behind a lot after Sammy went to Stanford and Dad and Dean went on longer hunts. He and Bobby had gotten furniture and knickknacks. After Alec had gone missing, sometimes Dean found himself in that room, walking around, picking up random baseballs and books on building online businesses and playing the stock market.

Dean shook his head and pushed the bedroom door open. He didn't want to risk waking Alec up, but then again, Alec had hearing better than a—a cat's. If he didn't wake up at Dean busting into the house shouting his name, he wasn't going to wake up. He poked his head in, blinking at locking gazes with a boy sitting at Alec's desk, reclining in the office chair. He held an open book on his lap.

"Hi, Dean." Ben.

A lump on the bed covered by blankets didn't stir.

"We're gonna talk later about running out on people and leaving vague notes, kid," Dean said, narrowing his eyes at Ben; then going to the bed. His hands shook as he rolled the blanket away from Alec's face and he let out a slow breath. Alec. He looked like Ben, but paler, the bones of his face more defined, dark circles under his eyes pronounced. Dean brushed his fingers through Alec's damp blond hair, letting his knuckles rest on Alec's hot temple. He didn't want to freak out. Alec ran hot, but was this normal?

"He runs fevers off and on," Ben said. "He was cold an hour ago."

"You guys give him anything for it?"

"Sam gave him a regular dose of Tylenol," Ben said. "I told him to double the dosage. Alec's metabolism will burn through the medicine making it ineffective, but he ignored me."

Dean frowned back at Ben. "Did you give him more?"

Ben shook his head. "I don't want to anger Sam, as you pointed out when you entered, neither of you is quite pleased with me. It wouldn't be wise to upset my current hosts."

Dean snorted. "Sam said you were staying. But not for good?"

"No," Ben agreed. "I don't belong here. I'll leave when I feel Alec doesn't need me anymore."

"Or you'll change your mind and stay," Dean said. He shrugged, his feelings about Ben still a swirl of confusion, but one thing was clear as it'd been when they'd met: Ben was family. "Maybe you'll get to know us and want to stick around. I've been told I'm the best big brother around by more than one kid in my day, you know."

Ben sighed. "I'm going downstairs." He stood and headed for the door. "He doesn't like being alone. Make sure you let someone know if you need to leave the room."

Dean growled under his breath as Ben left. He was gonna get that stick out of Ben's ass one way or another. He glanced back at Alec, a smile curving his lips. But the stick could wait. He crawled onto the other side of the bed, stretching out beside Alec. He rolled onto his side to face his brother, rubbing his back in the way that used to put him to sleep when he was small.

* * *

 _Sioux Fall, South Dakota, 2003_

Dean stopped himself from throwing the door open and shouting, "Guess who's back?" Alec was too old for that now. At nine, Sammy had suddenly started wanting his privacy respected, and Alec wasn't any different. Dean rapped his knuckles against the door. Bobby had said Alec was still sleeping in the junk room at the end of the hall. With Sammy off to Stanford, Alec could stay in the room Dean used to share with Sammy. He would probably like that a lot better than staying in the place Bobby kept his throwaway crap stored.

The door opened and Alec grinned at him through shaggy bangs. "Dean!" He threw his skinny arms around Dean and dragged him inside. Dean stumbled, trying not to trip over the kid.

"Man, you guys were gone forever!" Alec gushed. "Thought you were never gonna come back! You missed a lot!"

Dean stared around, eyes widening at the fresh white paint on the walls, the twin bed with Chips Ahoy cookies on the bedspread, the pinewood bookshelf half-full with hardback books. There was a matching wooden desk with a chunky black laptop loaded with decals and bumper stickers on its cover. A rolling office chair sat next to the desk on a nearly room-sized, dark blue rug that matched the bedspread. Alec's school backpack rested in a corner of the room, and a few pages of homework lay scattered on the bed.

"Yeah," Dean said with a low whistle. "I missed a whole lot apparently. When did…" He gestured around the room. "And how?"

Alec followed Dean's gaze, a slow smile crossing his lips. "You like it? Bobby said that this is my room now, since, you know, I kinda live here more than I'm with you and Dad. Dean, thrift stores and eBay are the way to go! Got most of this stuff for little to nothin'."

"How much did Bobby spend on you, kid?" Dean laid his hand on the laptop. It was new, not the hand-me-down from Sam. The furniture also didn't look second hand at all. "Alec, you…" Dean loved his baby brother, but he was one manipulative little bugger. "Dad's gonna freak."

Alec sighed and rolled his eyes. "I bought most of this stuff with my own money. _I_ have jobs that pay."

Dean blinked. "Oh?" Was this a dig at hunting? Alec had never dissed hunting, not like Sam. He'd always wanted to join Dean and Dad, but maybe he was changing. Maybe Sammy going off to college inspired him to want to do something else. Dean couldn't say that he was mad. It was a dangerous business, and he liked Alec being safe. But it'd kill Dad. Dean didn't know if Dad could take Alec turning away from hunting as Sam had.

"Yeah, I do chores, I do taxes, I fix computers, and my eBay store is awesome," Alec said. "Bobby lets me sell some of his scrap that he doesn't want anymore."

"Then you should split the proceeds with Bobby, brat," Dean said.

"He took it and bought me that." Alec pointed at the bed. "Said if I was gonna stay here, I needed a real room with real stuff in it. You know, he even went to a PTA meeting at my school last week. He almost got roped into baking cookies for a fundraiser."

Dean did a double-take. "What?" Bobby, a cookie-baking PTA mom? "Why would he…?"

Alec shrugged. "He said someone's gotta do it. Dad would never go."

"I'd go!" Dean snapped. He wouldn't bake cookies, but he'd go and sit and listen and fidget. It was like Bobby was saying Dean wasn't doing right by Alec, but what did Bobby know? Dean changed Alec's diapers, Dean helped him learn to walk, Dean sang "Alphabets" and read Dr. Seuss.

Son of a bitch. Was Dean jealous of Bobby being a better parent than him? But no, Dean wasn't Alec's parent, he was his brother. Dean sat down on the bed, and smirked when Alec sat next to him.

"You'd go to flirt with the moms," Alec said.

"Hell yeah, bet there are some hot ones," Dean said.

Alec wrinkled his nose. "You can go to the next one. But really, Dean, Bobby doesn't mind. I think… I think he likes it. I mean, you know, he never had any kids, but he talks about us like we're his. He had to pick me up from school a few times, 'cause I had a headache, and he was telling the nurse about us. Me, you and Sam. The nurse had a daughter that went to the high school with Sam. She even saw you picking up Sam once. Bobby was sounding all proud, talking about Sam going off college and you working. It was… really cool."

Dean's heart thumped loud. "Yeah." He loved Bobby and he did look up to the man like a second father, an uncle even. Bobby had fought to get Dean free time to be a kid when he was younger. Bobby let hang him out at the park and go on dates, whenever Dad left Dean and Sam with him for extended periods of time. When Alec came along, Bobby'd been a babysitter.

"So, we—Dad and I—were thinking you couldn't probably come on our next job with us," Dean said. "We're going to Ohio for about a month or so, and we can probably rent a house. But, uh…" he gazed around the room.

Alec bit his lip.

"Doubt you wanna leave this, huh?" Dean asked

Alec shrugged. "I like having my own room with my own stuff in it. I like going to the same school. I have friends. I went to Howie's house to play video games and Tiffany's having a birthday party next week. It's one of those where you have to invite everyone in class to come, but I really like Tiffany."

"Tiffany, huh?" Dean drawled. "What's she look like?"

Alec grinned. "She's really pretty with black hair and real dark eyes."

Dean shook his head. "You're nine and you already got a crush and a date."

"It's just a birthday party!"  
"A date!" Dean got Alec in a headlock, laughing as his little brother squirmed and giggled. "Well, Dad and me can't be messing up any future dates, Alley. Maybe you _should_ stay here, then."

Alec went still in his arms. "Would you be mad?"

Dean mused Alec's hair. "Nah." His heart clenched. The kid really sounded worried. Dean was a big boy. He understood wanting a stable home. Alec and Sam had needed one, and whenever Dean could get Dad to leave them in one place for a while, it was good. But Sammy leaving messed Dad up. They were on the road more often than not, and Dean was starting to feel like the parent that lost custody of the kid, seeing Alec every other weekend, some holidays, and a month or two in the summer. Well, maybe it wasn't quite that bad, but Dean was missing him some little brothers. And he knew Dad was too. It was him that had made plans to bring Alec with them to Ohio. Dean sighed. "I'll talk to Dad."

"Will Dad be mad?" Ale asked.

Dean shrugged. "Maybe a little, but he'll get over it. If you want to stay and keep going to school all regular-like, then that's what's best for you. I need you happy, kiddo."

Alec huffed and struggled out of Dean's hold. He scowled at Dean through tangled bangs, cheeks lightly flushed. "I need you happy too."

Dean stared him down, mirroring Alec's scowl until his little brother laughed. "When you're happy, I'm happy. There."

"Deeeeeeeean!" Alec moaned flopping into Dean's lap and rolling onto his back to stare up at him. "That's not fair!"

"You're the youngest. Nothing's supposed to be fair," Dean said, rolling his eyes and rubbing Alec's flat belly. He really was a great big cat. He patted Alec's flesh, frowning. "You losing weight?"

"Hm?"

Dean glanced down to see Alec's lashes fluttering. Belly-rubbing made Alec docile. "You're getting too skinny." Dean raised up Alec's t-shirt, stomach fluttering at being able to make out Alec's ribs. "Bobby feeding you enough?"

"Yeah," Alec said, yawning. "He says I eat like a horse. I usually have two breakfasts—like a Hobbit, and extra snacks at lunch. Maybe I have a tapeworm. You know how you can get a tapeworm out of your body?" Alec sat up, face inches from Dean's. "You starve the person up all good, then you have them open their mouth and you dangle a piece of food in front of it. The worm inside will be so hungry, it'll smell the food and come out to get it! I saw it on the Discovery Channel!"

Dean raised a brow, shaking his head at Alec's deflection skills. Dean guessed Alec learned from the best. "Alley, if you're eating so much, why are you losing weight?"

"I don't know," Alec said. "Bobby thinks I'm just growing. I mean I did grow like an eighth of an inch since last month. You didn't notice?"

"You're still a shrimp," Dean said. "Why would I notice?"

Alec growled and tackled Dean, Dean letting Alec pin him and attempt to get him a headlock. Dean waited for Alec's arms to tighten around his neck before flipping the kid. Alec shrieked and laughed, squirming out of Dean's hold and going in for another tackle. They rolled off the bed onto the floor with a thunk.

"Hey! Hey!" a gruff voice called. Dean peeled himself off Alec to smirk at Dad in the doorway.

"Dad!" Alec shouted. He jumped to his feel and rushed Dad like a linebacker. Dad caught him with a grunt and tossed him over his shoulder.

"Ugh!" Dad set him down. "You got bigger! Why?"

Alec put his hands on his hips and whirled on Dean. "See, Dean. Dad noticed I grew!"

"Dads notice stuff like that," Dad said, ruffling Alec's hair, then frowning at him. "You're getting scrawnier, though. Bobby feeding you?"

"According to him, he's eating Bobby out of house and home," Dean said, getting up and laughing as Alec punched him in the side.

"Huh…" Dad's eyes roamed the room. "What's all this?"

"My room," Alec said with a wide grin. "Bobby won't let me put a TV in here, so I have to play video games in the den."

Dad's brows raised, his mouth a straight line. "Son, how much did Bobby spend doing all this?"

Alec blinked at Dad, enthusiasm fading. Dean was quick to put a hand on the kid's shoulder, stomach clenching as he watched Dad's expression grow darker by the minute. Of course he wasn't happy. He didn't like charity. Hustling and conning were fine, but accepting handouts wasn't.

"Not much," Alec said, kicking at the floor with the toe of his sneaker. "I paid for most of it. I have money, Dad. I run an online business. I do chores. I do taxes. I invest—well, Bobby has to actually put the money into the stock, but it's my money and I tell him what to do with it." Dean smirked as Alec poked his lower lip out in a pout. The kid was worse than both Sam and Dad combined when it came to being stubborn, but, luckily for Alec, Dad seemed to tolerate his sass more than he'd done for Sammy or even Dean.

"Is that so?" Some of the darkness leeched out of Dad's expression as he studied Alec. There was something in his eyes that made Dean tense. Every now and again, Dean caught Dad looking at Alec in that way, like he was appraising him. Never lasted long. In fact, Dad blinked and the look was gone.

"Yeah," Alec said, folding his arms over his chest. "Was gonna buy new tires for the Impala, but I guess you don't like _my_ money."

Dad squinted at Alec, then came at him, grabbing him up again and throwing over his shoulder. "What's that? You're gonna get me new tires, for the truck too?' Alec laughed as Dad packed him out of the room, heading for the stairs. "Show me this video game of yours. It any fun?"

Dean smiled sadly as Dad and Alec's voices traveled farther away from him as they went downstairs. Dean couldn't imagine himself up on Dad's shoulders like that, being tossed around and played with. Dad took an interest in Alec, his schoolwork and play in a way he hadn't with Dean or Sammy. Sam had gotten jealous from time to time. Dean was just glad that at least one little brother got some much-needed attention from Dad for things that had nothing to do with hunting.

Dean laid back on Alec's bed, staring up at a poster of the universe. He wondered if Bobby would let him fix up a room for himself here too. Sure would be nice to have a place that was just his. He _did_ used to be Bobby's favorite. Not that he was jealous of Alec, but Dean and Bobby had always had a special relationship. Alec had probably spent a lot more time with Bobby than Dean ever had, and it showed in the way Bobby talked about the kid. His eyes brightened as he shook his head and grumbled about what "that rascal done got into now."

Dean used to be "that rascal."

He shut his eyes, letting the sounds of Alec shouting at Dad for cheating at whatever they were playing downstairs put him to sleep. It was good to be home—well, in a kind of home, for now.

Bobby fixed fried chicken, corn on the cob and cornbread for dinner. Dean watched Alec eat two plates full of food, drink about a half-gallon of milk, and scamper off into the kitchen for chocolate ice cream.

"He eat like that all the time?" Dad asked, seeming amused.

"Yeah," Bobby grunted. "Gotta keep the fridge stocked like I'm feeding a family of eight. But you can't tell it from the way he looks." Bobby lowered his voice. "Something ain't right with that, John. Had to pick the boy up from school a few times for dizzy spells and headaches that go away as soon as he eats something and has a bit of milk. And you seen how skinny the boy is. It's like he's starving, but he ain't."

Dean sat up straight. Alec said Bobby had picked him up from school a few times for headaches. He hadn't said anything about being dizzy.

Dad frowned at Bobby, narrowing his eyes.

"I was thinking about taking him to this doctor-friend I got a town over—"

"No," Dad barked.

"Now look, John. I know why you ain't too keen on the idea—"

Bobby did? Dean leaned forward, sucking fried chicken grease off his fingers. Alec never got sick, but there was nothing normal about what Bobby described. Dad never signed on for Alec to have physicals, not even the school required ones. He started paying for all of them, Dean, Sam and Alec to have fake medical records, but it had started when it was time to put Alec in school. Dad made sure they all stayed immunized, but when it came to physicals and check-ups, those didn't happen anymore, unless somebody was actually sick.

"Dad, Bobby's right," Dean said. "Maybe he's got some disorder—or a tapeworm." Hey, things like that did happen, or else Alec wouldn't have seen it on Discovery.

Dad shook his head. "He don't need a doctor. We'll get him some vitamins, some dietary supplements. And you say he's fine after eating—"

"He's skin and bones," Bobby said.

"He's a growing boy. They get knobby for a few years, and then they fill out. I'd know more about that than you, seeing that I raised three—"

Bobby snorted. "You act like you raised them boys by yourself. I probably know as much as you do about 'em." Bobby didn't say it, but Dean heard the unvoiced, _"if not more."_

And Dean didn't think he could argue with Bobby on that one.

Dad glared. "Get your stuff, Dean. Alec! Pack up what you need for a month!" Dad's voice echoed through the house.

"Wait, Dad, Alec's got school and plans here," Dean said. "We shouldn't pull him out for just a month somewhere else."

"I don't trust him staying here when I'm not," John said, eyes glittering as he kept glaring at Bobby.

"I just want what's best for that kid, John," Bobby growled. "Something's wrong. You take him on the road and he gets sick out there, who's gonna see to him? At least here, I can pick him up, and my doctor-friend—listen John!" Bobby pounded the table with his fist as Dad tried to cut him off.

"My friend knows about Alec's type. She's had a patient like him before," Bobby said. "Just let me ask her advice—"

"We're leaving now," Dad said.

Alec rushed into the dining room, mouth messy with chocolate ice cream. "No, Dad! I don't wanna go! Why can't _you_ just stay here?"

"We got a job to do," Dad said.

Alec looked at Dean, big eyes pleading.

Dean looked at his skinny baby brother, then at the two angry men. Bobby looked ready to grab his shotgun, Dad looked ready to flip the table. "Dad, I'm with Bobby on this. If Alley's sick…"

"He ain't sick!" Dad spat. "He doesn't get sick."

"Not before, but…"

"You questioning me, Dean?" Dad asked. "I thought it was just Sammy that didn't trust me. I never expected this from you." The disappointment in his gaze undid Dean. Dean was Dad's right hand man, his back-up.

But this was about one of his little brothers.

"Dad, I'll stay here with Alec," Dean said. "We won't take him to any doctor, and he can stay in school and be with his friends."

Alec's eyes watered. There would be tears soon, and Dean hated tears.

"Please?" Alec asked.

Dad's shoulders slumped as he gazed over at Alec. He never could win against the "big eyes". Dad sighed and shut his eyes, breathing in and out slowly, probably counting.

Bobby watched through hooded eyes. Alec came over to Dean and Dean fought the urge to pull the kid into his lap, settling for squeezing his shoulder. He felt the tremors in that little body and wanted to yell at Dad for putting them there.

"Fine." Dad looked heavenward; then narrowed his eyes at Bobby again. "But if I hear anything else about that doctor of yours, we're all leaving tonight."

Alec relaxed against Dean, nearly falling into his lap and Dean thought: _What the hell_. The kid might be too big for it, but he was still a shrimp. He pulled Alec onto his lap, and chuckled as Alec balked then settled in like a cat—until he noticed the kid gnawing on his corn on the cob.

"Hey!"

Bobby raised a brow and Dad shook his head.

"I'm gonna go do more research on the new job. I'll leave in the morning."

"We weren't gonna head out on that job for at least a week, Dad," Dean said to deaf ears. Without looking back, Dad left. Dean swallowed hard, not caring that Alec was finishing his food. He didn't want it anymore. He mused Alec's soft hair. "How come you didn't tell me you've been getting dizzy too?"

Ale shrugged, still eating.

"Do you want to see a doctor?" Dean asked. He didn't care what Dad said, if Alec wanted to go, then Dean would make it happen.

Alec sipped from milk from Dean's glass. "Not if it'll make Dad mad. I'm fine. I'm always fine."

"Yeah," Dean said after a moment. "Yeah, I guess you are."

He shared a look with Bobby over the kid's head. What John Winchester said about his boys usually went. Alec belched, Dean's food all gone, along with his tremors.

"Wanna see my new XBOX, Dean?" Alec asked, bright and cheerful as if nothing had ever happened.

Dean looked at Bobby again.

"Get outta here, ya rascals! But in 30 minutes your butts better be in that kitchen washing dishes." Bobby got up from his chair, gathering up plates and serving bowls to place in the sink or cover to put in the fridge. "Damn Winchesters," he muttered as he disappeared into the kitchen.

Dean smirked, and Alec slid off his lap, grabbing Dean by the wrist. "Come on!"

Dean looked his brother up and down, then rose to his feet. "The controller better not have a whole buncha' crazy buttons on it, brat."

"I'll teach you how to use them, old man!" Alec said, dragging Dean toward the living room.

Dean covered a sigh with a laugh. Looked like he'd be staying with Bobby for a while, but out of respect for Dad, he wouldn't ask for his own room. Maybe Dad felt like Bobby was stealing Alec away. Dean couldn't let him think Bobby was stealing him too. Not after Sam.

But this was good for Alec. A doctor would probably be better, but Dean couldn't win them all. In fact, most of the time, he couldn't win anything at all.

He was shoved onto a blanket covered couch, a black game controller with way too many buttons dropped into his lap, as an excited Alec chattered at him and got the TV ready. Overhead, Dean heard the sounds of Dad's heavy boots pacing the floor upstairs, studying, making sure he was ready to leave again.

"Dad's really mad," Alec said, sitting beside Dean.

"He'll get over it," Dean said. "You sure you don't want to see that doctor? Dad wouldn't know about it."

Alec shook his head. "I'm okay."

Dean nodded, giving Alec a quick, one-armed hug. "All right then. Show me how to play this, so I can kick your little ass."

Alec laughed and selected "start" on the game.

* * *

 _Sioux Fall, South Dakota, 2010_

Dean woke to a hand on his cheek. He opened his eyes, starting at being face-to-face with pure green eyes. "Hey there, Alley Cat."

Alec sat up, peering down at him, rubbing his eyes. "Dean." His voice was rough with sleep and maybe something else. Dean sat up too, drinking in his baby brother again—this teenage Alec.

"You are one handsome son-of-a-bitch, little brother. Wonder who you got those looks from," Dean said, laughing and pulling Alec into his arms, squeezing him tight, feeling Alec's arms around him. He rubbed Alec's back as his brother cried. "It's all right. Big brother will shoot anything that comes after you again."

He looked up at the door opening. Bobby stood in the doorway, arms folded over his chest, gazing at them.

"Hey Alley, I think somebody else wants to say 'hello'." Dean patted Alec's back and gave him a little push away. Alec's arms loosened around Dean as he turned his head, then untangled completely as the boy stumbled off the bed to Bobby. Bobby hugged Alec.

"Good to see you, boy," Bobby said, his gruff voice sounding a little misty. "Real good. You all right? That… twin 'uh yours says you ain't doing so good."

Dean grunted at the mention of Ben.

"I was thinking," Bobby drawled, keeping a hand on Alec's shoulder as they broke their hug. "Maybe it's time to see that doctor-friend of mine from way back when."

Dean had almost forgotten about that.

Alec frowned. "But…"

"She's good people," Bobby said. "She used to live out in Texas and used to treat this little girl named Samantha."

Alec stared.

"What? You still don't wanna?" Bobby asked. "Winchesters! I swear—"

"No," Alec said, voice still soft. He shook his head. "It's not that, it's just… I think I know Samantha. She was…" he shuddered. "I think I know her. I'll… I'll see the doctor."

Bobby patted Alec's head. "I'll give her a call." He studied Alec. "What d'ya want for dinner tonight? I'll make whatever ya want and I'll make sure to make enough to feed 20. That twin 'uh yours eats more than you ever did and that's saying a lot."

A ghost of a smirk appeared on Alec's face. "You don't have to make that much, Bobby." He comes back to the bed, sitting down. "I'm not all that hungry." Dean scooted across the bed, putting himself at Alec's side.

" _You're_ not hungry?"

Dean smacked the back of his hand across Alec's forehead, hot as always. "Does that doctor make house calls?"

"We're about to find out," Bobby said. "I need to look up her number. I'll be right back."

Bobby left the room. Alec rested his head on Dean's shoulder. "I'm glad you're back, Dean."

Dean snorted. "You're glad _I'm_ back? Kiddo…" Dean had no words. He swallowed a lump in his throat, draping an arm over Alec's shoulders. "You okay? You're shaking?"

"I…" Alec blinked, face troubled. "Pr-probably not. You should—you should call Ben," Alec said softly. "Just yell, he'll hear you."

"Why—?"

"And…"

"And what?

"And then… tell me why Dad isn't here?" Alec asked. "Sam's being weird about it."

The tremors increased. "Whoa," Dean said, rubbing Alec's back. "What's happening here, kid?"

"Call Ben. Then, then tell me about Dad."

Dean froze, tell him about Dad… "B-Ben!" Dean yelled as Alec grabbed his knee, grip tight. "Ben!"

Footsteps hurried up the stairs.

"Where's Dad?" Alec gasped.

"Not now, Alley," Dean snapped. "What's wrong with you? What can I do for you?"

Ben burst into the room. "Help me get him on the floor!"

Dean moved like a robot, helping Ben guide Alec to the rug on the floor and rolling him onto his side. Ben leaned forward, peering into Alec's eyes. "You're going to be fine."

"Make him… tell me… about Dad."

Dean knelt on the floor. "What's going on?"

"He's about to seize," Ben said calmly. "Tell him about John Winchester or he won't calm down."

Words stuck in Dean's throat.

Ben rolled his eyes. "Alec."

Dazed green eyes focused on Ben.

"John Winchester is dead. It's believed he fell to Azazel."

Alec blinked once, twice, then his eyes rolled back and his body convulsed.

* * *

Author's Note: The verdict? Like it? Hate it? Don't care either way? Any way you liked it, let me know. Please review!


	9. Chapter 9

I'm back! Long time no see! Thank you to everyone who has followed and/or reviewed this story. It means a lot. I'm still finishing up the sequel to my first novel, _The Fourth Piece_ , and hey, that novel is currently in the works to be made available in audio book format as well! A lot of work has to go into both projects on my end, but hey! Fan fiction is a much needed break! I hope you enjoy this new installment. Take care!

* * *

Chapter 9

 _Sioux Fall, South Dakota, 2010_

Dean had a sixth sense when it came to little brothers. It didn't always work, and usually didn't when Sam or Alec needed him the most—his chest went heavy at that—but sometimes, Dean knew when something was wrong. He glanced at the clock on his bedside table, the glowing numbers telling him it was 3:14 am. Too early, too late, he didn't know. He'd gone to bed after midnight on Bobby's orders. The old man was turning into a better drill sergeant than Dad.

Dean pushed himself into a sitting position with a grunt and swung his legs over the side of the twin bed. He was careful to be quiet. He shared the room with Sam and didn't want to wake him up. These days the less he actually had to speak to Sam the better. Sam treated him like a mental patient off his meds, like he was scared Dean was suicidal or something.

As if Dean would do something that stupid with Alec back and needing him so much. Sometimes, that kid was the only reason he wanted to try anymore—him and Ben. Ben needed to learn to relax and have fun. Dean had worked on him for the two months that he'd been with them, but for the last couple of weeks, Dean wasn't so great of a teacher. He ran his hands over his face, the unscheduled trip to Heaven was still kicking his ass—then, dealing with that whole town going to Hell after being manipulated by the Whore of Babylon hadn't helped. _He_ hadn't helped. The world was gonna end no matter how hard they fought it, and he didn't know what to do.

The tingle in his chest that came when something wrong with one of his brothers came back. Dean sighed and crossed the room, shooting a quick look at the huge lump that was Sam under a single blanket, before leaving.

The door to Alec's room, that he and Ben shared, was closed. If they were asleep, Dean opening the door would wake them. But, if something was wrong, then they were already up. Dean reached out to grip the doorknob, and stopped, straining his ears. Faint sounds of retching drifted from down the hall. Dean turned, heading toward the bathroom. No light came from underneath the door, but from inside Dean heard choked breaths and heaves. He knocked lightly, not wanting scare whoever was in there, and pushed open the door.

"Hey there, buddy," Dean sighed, eyes just making out Alec's slight frame crouched in front of the toilet. Dean knelt down beside him, rubbing his back through a sweat-soaked t-shirt and pressing a hand to his damp temple. Way too damn hot. "Nightmare?"

Alec spat into the toilet, breath catching in his chest, before he nodded. Dean stroked Alec's wet hair out of his face, grimacing as Alec's body was wracked with a full-body heave. "It's okay. I gotcha, kiddo," Dean murmured as Alec gagged and choked several more times.

Alec slumped against Dean, panting and trembling and Dean held him, placing his chin on top of Alec's hair, not caring about how slimy it felt.

"Wanna talk about it?" Dean asked and waited. Alec didn't like talking about his nightmares, hated talking about Manticore, but he would if Dean asked. It just took a while. Bobby's doctor friend Theresa told them they should encourage Alec to talk about it. It was good for him. Dean squeezed Alec's shoulders, but didn't push. He hated when the kid felt forced to do things. He'd had more than enough of that in his short life.

"Just… her face," Alec whispered "when she hit her head. How the bomb went off and she flew backward and was screaming and then she stopped. Her face just went flat, and I called for her, but they dragged me away. I could have fought them, but I let them drag me away."

"What'd she look like, Alley?" Dean asked, rubbing Alec's back.

"Curly brown hair—long, past her shoulders, and big brown eyes. Golden tan, slender hands, soft skin. Shorter than me and slim," Alec murmured. "She smiled with her whole face, her eyes crinkled and she had dimples. It made me smile even though I was supposed to play a serious guy. A piano prodigy there to teach her."

"You played piano?"

"Mmmhmm."

"You good?"

"Yeah," Alec whispered. "Th-there was another guy that was supposed to teach her, foreign exchange student, older. They killed him, so I could take his place. Think he was seventeen."

Dean growled deep in his chest. He hated Manticore more than he hated Lucifer, Michael and Zachariah. Ben had said the place had gone up in flames, but Dean was sure a lot of the bastards that had kept that place running were still alive. They hadn't surfaced, what with all the monster transgenic sightings and public panic about genetic experiments gone wrong right under their noses in Wyoming. With all that chaos going on, it was almost easy to forget about the angel/demon war. Almost, until he was shot point blank in the chest and left for dead. He shut his eyes on vision of Sam's Heaven, closed his heart on feelings of hopelessness, and concentrated on the overheated body trembling under his hand.

"It wasn't your fault, kiddo," Dean murmured. "People hurt you, not the other way around."

Alec's thin body shuddered as he sobbed, the sounds coming from deep within. His soul was weeping. Dean held him so tight, kissing the top of his head and whispering, "It's okay, baby. It's all right. I'm here" _and this is all my fault, not yours. I'm so sorry for letting this happen to you. I never should have stopped looking. I should have found you and got you outta there and killed all those SOB's that hurt you. I should have made Dad bring you with us that night. I'm so sorry._

Alec hiccupped, gagging a bit. He pulled away from Dean to hunch over the toilet again. Dean scooted closer, gathering sweaty hair in one hand and rubbing Alec's back with the other, waiting. Alec gasped and spat, but didn't throw up again.

"I don't feel good, Dean," he moaned and fear laced Dean's worry.

"You think you're gonna seize?" Dean hated the seizures. They freaked him out and he was utterly helpless while Alec suffered through them. Ben, Sam and Bobby acted so calm. They'd get Alec on the floor, lay him on his side, shove a cloth or belt between his teeth, a pillow under his head, and let him shake. Dean couldn't watch. If someone else was in the room with Alec and had it under control, Dean often left, volunteering to be the one to call Theresa.

"M-maybe," Alec choked. "Y-you w-want B-ben to come? H-he's up."

Dean blinked. "What's he doing up?"

"W-woke up wh-when I left. H-he w-waited for you," Alec said.

"That little bastard's listening to us?" Dean asked. Ugh. Alec and Ben. Yes, Dean was fully aware of their inhuman abilities, but it was still damn weird to know that his little brothers could hear him all over the house.

"He could have come after you," Dean grumbled. "Took me a while to get in here."

Alec slumped into Dean again. "Maybe I won't seize. Not foggy. But I feel like shit."

"Yeah, okay," Dean said. "You okay to move a bit?"

"I guess so," Alec said.

Dean hugged him one more time before moving to close the toilet lid, then flushing the toilet. He got to his feet and helped Alec up, sitting him on the toilet. "Rest there."

He moved to the linen cabinet next to the bath tub and pulled out a wash cloth. "Let's get some of that sweat off ya."

In minutes, Dean had Alec's wet t-shirt off and was running the damp towel over his neck, back and shoulders. Alec sat still, teeth chattering as he moaned through the cold wash-off.

"Almost done, kid," Dean said. "You'll feel a lot better once you're clean and dried off." Dean finished up, getting out a big towel and draping it over Alec's shoulders. "Can you handle that yourself while I get you another shirt?"

Alec frowned, eyes uncertain. It broke Dean's heart. He couldn't help but remember the cocky little kid that scoffed at Dean being overprotective. This new Alec craved Dean's undivided attention. "Yeah. Okay."

Dean left the bathroom, peeking over his shoulder at Alec to make sure he was really all right and nodding to himself as Alec started to dry off. _Good._ Dean made his way to the room Ben and Alec shared. The door was slightly ajar. Dean pushed it open and started at seeing Ben standing a few feet away from him in the dark, holding out t-shirt.

"Shit," Dean grunted, snatching the shirt. "You could've gone with him, you know."

"He wanted you," Ben said. "You're not as maternal when someone else is around to see."

"What?" Dean curled his lip. "Say that again!"

Ben cocked his head. "Hm. Paternal was probably the better word. My research on mothers and fathers is a bit lacking. I figured mothers the more likely to do the hugging and kissing."

Dean flushed. "I ain't nobody's mom, man!"

"Well, whatever you are, it's what Alec needs," Ben said. "I can't give it, not like that. I don't know how. Though, genetically, I am pretty much you, but in all the ways that it counts, I'm not."

Dean clutched the t-shirt he'd snatched, staring at Ben. "Good for you then. You don't want to be me, kid."

Ben shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not." He looked back to his bed. "Are you really afraid he'll seize? I can take care of him now."

Dean shook his head. "I don't know, but… it's fine. If he does, I'll yell. Go back to sleep." Ben frowned for a second and Dean came forward, pushing him toward his bed. "I know you don't need as much sleep as normal kids, but I can tell you're tired."

Something struck Dean. "How long you been up? You have a nightmare too?" Ben didn't talk much about his own problems. Every now and again, he might mention a mission or training, explaining scenes that made Dean's stomach churn and Sam's eyes get all big and dewy. His childhood was one big nightmare without breaks.

Ben snorted. "What? You want to kiss and hug me too?"

Dean flushed again. "No… well… If you…" He sighed. He didn't know enough about Ben to know when he needed something else. "I'm here, for you, okay. You're just a kid and you went through hell."

Ben sat down on the bed, staring up at Dean. Dean wished he had turned on the light when he'd come into the room so he could better see the expression on Ben's face.

Ben cleared his throat after a minute. "You better go. Alec is waiting for you."

Dean sighed. If Ben were Sammy, Dean would tackle him. If he were Alec, he'd noogie him. But this was Ben, totally uncharted territory.

"Night, kiddo.'

"Goodnight."

* * *

Sam smirked as he came down the stairs. Dean slept sitting up with Alec's head in his lap, the TV on. Sam crept by, not wanting to waking either one of them on his way to the kitchen for coffee. In the kitchen, Ben and Bobby sat at the table, Ben with a bowl of cereal and glass of milk, Bobby with a mug of coffee.

"You see Dean and Alec on the couch? Cute, ain't they?" Bobby said.

Sam chuckled. "Yeah. They sleep there all night?"

"Since about four in the morning," Ben said. "Alec's not feeling well again."

"He seize?" Sam asked. "Did anyone call the doctor?"

Theresa was great. She lived an hour away and owned a private clinic equipped with X-rays and MRI machines. She looked at Alec for free and made house calls when she could. Turned out, years ago, she'd treated another X-5 that Alec and Ben knew. Theresa had ideas; she had Alec keeping a food diary and trying out new diets. Her theory was that all of Alec's problems stemmed from his metabolism being off balance and she was open to holistic treatments. Sam pulled out his phone, ready to dial the doctor if no one else had.

"No, he didn't seize," Ben said. "But he needs more sleep."

"Who doesn't," Sam grumbled, going to the coffee pot and wondering if Bobby would smack him if he took the whole the thing and drank from it. Constant late-night research was taking its toll.

"I spoke to Zack earlier," Ben said.

Sam came to the table with his coffee.

"Eat something with that, boy," Bobby snapped. "And yeah, what'd he say?"

"Crop circles in Salinas. Lightning storms," Ben said. "He said they were gonna armor up and check it out."

"By themselves?" Sam asked, rolling his eyes at Bobby's glare. He set down his coffee and went back to the fridge for some fruit.

"They stay in groups of four," Ben said.

"Four _teenagers_ ," Bobby said.

"Four veteran soldiers," Ben corrected. "We've been trained since birth to fight demons, angels, and humans too."

Sam shuddered at the cool way Ben said all that, like it didn't bother him one bit. Sam wasn't sure if he was putting on a front or being completely serious.

"I don't care what else they are, boy. Ain't none of them older than seventeen," Bobby said. "They shouldn't be out there without a grown hunter, but nothing I can say is gonna stop them ijits."

Ben breathed through his nose and finished his milk. "I was thinking—"

"You was thinking what?" Bobby asked, eyes narrowing as he gazed at Ben.

Ben's smooth expression cracked a bit, exasperation showing. "I was thinking that maybe I'd join them."

"That _we'd_ join em'?" Bobby pressed.

Ben raised a brow. "No. Just me."

Sam swallowed his coffee without blowing, the liquid burning his throat on the way down. "And come back when you're done, or…?"

Ben played with the spoon in his cereal. "No. I wouldn't come back when I was done. I'd stay."

Sam's heart flopped. "But—"  
"I was never going to live here, Sam," Ben said. " _My_ family misses me. Alec has a competent doctor to see to his health, and you know what damage has been done to his mind. He'll get better. You can take care of him on your own now."

"And you could just leave like that?" Sam asked. "He's your brother. _We_ 're your brothers."

"I don't know you—"

"Bull shit. You're getting to know us!" Sam shouted.

"Keep your voice down, boy!" Bobby said. "Dean and Alec are sleeping."

Sam lowered his voice, looking through the door frame as if he'd see Dean and Alec out on the couch. "I don't think you should run out on us, Ben. At least, not now. Not with all that's going on with us. We don't know how this is all gonna end with the angels."

"If it turns out to be the end of the world, I want to be with my unit," Ben said.

"Well, why can't some of them come here?" Sam asked. "You should be close to allies."

Ben hummed. "Seth wanted to set up a base near here when we first came through."

"And that's not a bad idea," Sam said. "But…" People who hung around Winchesters too long ended up dead, a lot.

"I don't know," Ben said. "I…" He trailed off, sitting at attention, hackles raised like a cat sprayed with a hose.

"What is it?" Bobby asked, eyes going to his gun hanging up by the door.

Sam's eyes went to the drawer of silver knives.

"It's…"

An open newspaper flew off the counter, napkins on the table fluttered into the air. Ben was on his feet as Castiel suddenly appeared in the middle of the kitchen, a body slung over his shoulders.

"Help," the angel said, walking past the kitchen table and into the study. Sam and Bobby got up to follow, Ben trailing them.

Castiel dumped the body on the bench seat by the window and stepped back, so Bobby and Sam could see what he'd brought them. Sam stared down at the body, cold shock flooding him as he recognized the muddy face.

"Who the hell is this?" Bobby asked.

"I-it's…" Sam looked past Bobby, at Ben. "It's our brother."

Ben came forward, moving Sam aside. Sam staggered, eye back on Adam's face as Ben knelt over him. Ben turned Adam's head, searching his neck, checking his pulse. "He's not transgenic." He looked up. "What do you mean brother? Alec only told me about you and Sam."

"This's Adam?" Bobby asked. "But he…"

"Ben, go get Dean," Sam said.

Ben blinked at Sam. "Who is this, Sam? Alec never—"

"Dad had another kid by some other woman, and we never knew about him until recently. But he died, and… and… Ben, please get Dean."

Ben blinked again, then pressed his lips in a thin line, reminding him of a young Alec when Sam told him to brush his teeth and go to bed. Without another word, Ben stalked off, hopefully heading for the living room.

Sam knelt down, studying Adam up close. He looked good for someone who was supposed to be dead. They'd burned his corpse, given him a hunter's send-off. "Castiel, explain. What is this? We… we burned his body. Is this some kind of—"

"It is your brother," Castiel said. "It seems I'm good at finding them for you. I pulled him from the ground, another angel was there, perhaps to retrieve him."

"What the hell's going on?" Dean entered the room, stretching and rubbing his eyes, Ben and Alec behind him. He did a double-take at the mud-covered body. "What's this, Cas? You a hunting dog or something?"

Castiel stared at Dean, then moved to Adam, reaching down to place a glowing hand to Adam's chest. Adam's eyes flew open and he gasped in a huge breath and coughed up dirt. Sam pulled him forward, slapping him on the back, then sat on his heels, gaping at the younger man.

"Adam?" he asked.

Adam stared at them all, blue eyes dazed. "Who the hell are you guys?"

Sam swallowed, his stomach going hollow. That was right. The real Adam had never met them before, probably didn't even know about them, just like Sam and Dean hadn't known about him. "Uh…" He gazed at Dean who shrugged at him, then wrapped an arm around Alec's shoulders, whispering in his ear.

Sam sneered at Dean. It was up to him? He signed, and turned his attention back to Adam. "I know you're going to find this hard to believe, but uh… we're your brothers. John Winchester was our dad too."

Adam's eyes roamed over all of their face, the haze in his eyes slowly clearing. He nodded to himself and folded his arms over chest, eyes turning hard. "You're Sam and Dean then, and…" He frowned at Alec and Ben. "And they're the mutants with numbers instead of names."

Alec flinched and Dean pulled him closer. Ben's expression was flat.

"Watch it, kid," Dean growled. "Ain't nobody a mutant here but you, if you brought yourself back from the dead. How do you know who we are?"

"The angels told me," Adam said. "They told me everything." His gaze locked on Castiel. "Where the hell is Zachariah?"

"The angel with the penis-head?" Alec asked.

"Watch your mouth boy!" Bobby snapped.

Sam couldn't hold back a smirk at that, but he wiped it off at the agitation in Adam's expression. "Why do you want him?"

Adam's clenched his fists, his nerves showing.

"Ah…" Sam said, "uh…why don't we let you clean up? Then, we can talk some more."

"Clean up?" Dean asked. "What if he's some kind of demon?"

"He's not," Ben said. "He smells…"

"Like kin," Alec finished. He ducked out from under Dean's arm, coming to stand beside Sam and peer at Adam who looked right back at him.

"You don't look like a mutant," Adam said simply.

"And you don't look like a corpse, but you kinda stink like one." Alec shrugged. "I'll show you the bathroom."

Sam watched Alec step back so Adam could get up. Alec—even after Manticore—still had his same way with people. But that way with people was why Manticore had liked him.

"Hey," Dean said as Alec tried to get by him. "You were really sick last night—"

"I feel better," Alec said. "I'm just going down the hall." He swatted off the hand Dean tried to touch to his face with and guided an Adam, who wouldn't look at any of them, out of the room.

Sam slowly got to his feet after Alec and Adam left, crossing the room to Dean and Ben and they all turned to Castiel.

"So, you were just strolling along and randomly found our dead little brother?" Dean asked.

"I felt a disturbance and traveled to the area. I found your brother underground and extracted him," Castiel said.

"Did your father know about him?" Ben asked.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, yeah, he did. But not until later. The—uh—the monster that killed Adam months ago and pretended to be him told us that Dad found out about Adam when he was twelve and started visiting him once a year on his birthday."

Ben frowned.

"He didn't know anything about hunting," Dean said. "So, when the monsters came, they ate him." He sounded bitter. Sam remembered teaching the ghoul pretending to be Adam how to shoot, and Dean being against it because Dad hadn't wanted Adam to know about hunting. Did he change his mind?

"What kind of monster?" Ben asked.

"Ghouls," Sam said. "A pair of them, killed his mother too."

"Ghouls," Ben said. He hummed. "Those are easy kills. Head shots."

"Yeah," Dean said, looking a little proud. "You done in some ghouls, kiddo?"

"A few," Ben said. "They were hanging around a vampire nest we were ordered to take out."

"You took down fangs too?" Dean asked, touching the top of Ben's head. "Good boy. Hey, Bobby, kid's been holding out on his expertise."

Sam stared at his brothers. "Dean, focus. Adam's here, and he should be dead. He asked for Zachariah. We should be worrying about that. He's not even marked to keep the angels from finding him."

"Right, right," Dean said, looking tired enough to fall over on the spot. Sam hated the way his older brother looked and acted lately. After Heaven and that town, Dean was spiraling downward. Sam was sure the only reason Dean hadn't taken to drinking all day and flat out giving up was Alec. Dean poured his energy into taking care of the kid.

"I'll get the boy something to eat and drink," Bobby said, going back into the kitchen.

Sam took a seat on Bobby's desk. Ben joined him after a moment. Dean sat in an arm chair. Castiel remained standing in a corner of the room, staring at the love seat as if Adam was still on it.

"Why would Zachariah raise Adam?" Sam mused aloud.

Ben raised a brow. "Dean is Michael's chosen vessel because he's from the Winchester bloodline."

"Yeah," Dean grunted.

"Any Winchester could do, really," Ben said. "Sam can't be chosen because of the demon blood in him. Alec and I are also impure, but Adam is not."

Sam felt cold. "Holy shit."

Dean's face went pale. "But they really want me. Michael could have taken Dad a long time ago. He did at one point, but let him go. He was waiting for me to be born."

"But you're being difficult," Ben said. "They need a back-up vessel, security. It's a smart thing to do, but how did they manage to lose him?"

"So, it _is_ a trap," Dean said.

Ben shrugged. "We'll find out." His eyes drifted to the door. A moment later, footsteps could be heard and Alec and Adam reappeared, Adam's face and hands free of mud.

"Sit down, Adam," Dean said gruffly. "Let's talk."

* * *

Author's Note: So, what's the verdict? Like it, hate it; don't care about it either way? Any way you liked it, let me know. Please review!


	10. Chapter 10

Author's Note: This story is still a really long drabble, but I looked at my page count and saw that I've hit 135 pages. I guess it's time to build in a bit of a plot. So, sticking to some Season 5 canon, and some things I'm of course wanting and planning to change, here we go!

Thank you for reading!

* * *

Chapter 10

 _Sioux Fall, South Dakota, 2010_

"That's just messed up," Alec said as Adam finished his story. "Dean won't be Michael's bitch, so that douche raised you up from the dead to do the job? A pimp angel."

Sam aimed for Alec's head, but Alec caught his hand before it could connect. "Hey, I'm sick!" Alec said. He looked to Dean and Bobby, gesturing at Sam. "He can't smack me today, right?"

"Watch your mouth, boy," Bobby said, rolling his eyes, then smacking Sam. "Don't hit your brat brother today."

Alec grinned at Sam, which made Sam want to swat him again. It was amazing how years had passed, yet Alec still knew all the right buttons to press to irritate Sam like no other. Sam growled under his breath and looked back to poor Adam who was studying their exchanges.

"So, you guys gonna let me go then?" Adam asked.

"Go where?" Dean asked.

"To find Zachariah," Adam drawled as if Dean was stupid. "If you're not gonna save the world, I will."

"If I'm not gonna—look kid," Dean said. He stood up from his armchair, looking down on Adam who still sat on the window seat. "We're working on saving the world, and that plan don't involve anybody being an angel bitch, not me, and certainly not you. You can't trust that guy—"

"Oh, but I can trust you?" Adam raised his chin, blue eyes steely. "Why?"

"Because we're your brothers, your family," Sam said. He nodded to Alec who sat next to him on the couch sipping on a box of chocolate milk, looked to Ben who sat on the arm of the couch with his own milk, then at Dean and Bobby. All faces in the room were serious.

But Adam laughed.

"My family?" Adam asked, sounding incredulous. "Really? Family? I don't know you people. I just met you, and hey, these two were made in a lab!" He waved at the twins, scowling when Alec waved back. Ben nodded as if what Adam had said was fair and he accepted it.

Sam wished he could be as stoic as Ben—wished Dean could be.

Dean growled. "Say another shitty thing about Alec and Ben. Go 'head, see what happens."

"Threats?" Adam asked then smirked. "But…we're family, Dean."

"Yeah—brothers, and brothers beat the crap out of each other all the time," Dean said. "So, watch your mouth."

Sam sighed. "Look, Adam—"

"No, you look," Adam said. "I don't know you. We have the same dad, but I didn't know him either. He was some guy who came around once a year on my birthday to take me to a baseball game. My life was me and my mom. She was the one who worked night shifts to take care of me. I cooked my own dinners and tucked myself in at night. We were a team. Zachariah said if I pull this off, I get to see her again. That's all I care about."

"He's lying," Sam said.

"He's an angel!" Adam said. "They don't lie."

"Because you've met a whole bunch of them before and they all passed lie detector tests?" Alec asked.

"No," Adam said. "But…"

"They lie," Ben said, setting his milk box down on the coffee table. "Like everyone and everything else, they lie to get what they want. I actually find demons to be more truthful."

Alec shrugged. "Mainly because the truth can really hurt."

Adam put his head in his hands, rumpling his hair. "Demons, angels, ghouls, brothers…being dead and back like some…"

"Zombie?" Alec supplied.

Sam draped an arm over Alec's shoulder and pulled him close, squeezing a little too hard. Alec grunted, glaring at Sam and shaking him off.

"It's a lot," Bobby said. "And I know you don't know us, kid, but now you get the chance. We'll keep ya safe and do right by ya. You can stay here. We can fix you up a place to sleep, get some food in ya. And Cass here is gonna make it so them angels can't find ya."

Sam straightened, then looked over his shoulder to see Cass sitting in a chair near the door. He'd forgotten about the silent angel.

Castiel stood up. "It will be uncomfortable."

"Try excruciating," Dean muttered.

Adam's eyes were bright. "What are you gonna do?"

"I'm going to make symbols…on your ribcage," Castiel said in his usual monotone. "Your brothers all have the markings."

"And we're gonna take bets on how high you scream," Alec said. "I'll put ten down on—" Bobby ear-cuffed him, "ow!"

"Ignore him," Bobby said. "We'll go in the kitchen. I'll cook up some breakfast for ya."

Adam's mouth opened. "I didn't agree to letting that guy do anything to me. You just said you can't trust angels, and he's an angel."

"Yeah, but he's on our side," Dean said. "I vouch for him. Come on, kid, give us something here. We gotta start somewhere in this relationship, so give me your trust in this, and then just spend some time here. Believe me, you'll like… _some_ of us." He eyeballed Alec who gave him an angelic smile.

"Okay," Dean said. "We'll go into the other room and ignore anything we hear, and then you come in the kitchen when you're ready."

Adam stared hard at Dean. Sam could see a decision being made behind those blue eyes. Adam didn't look much like Dad, but the set of his jaw and the hardness of his stare marked him as a Winchester. Adam sighed and leaned back on the window seat. "All right, fine. I'll go along with you guys…for now."

Dean nodded, patting Adam's shoulder as he passed by him, heading for the kitchen. "Good choice. Come on!" He gestured for Sam, Ben, Alec and Bobby to follow him.

They left the study as a group. Alec sat at the kitchen table, pillowing his head on his arms. "Ten dollars says he screams like a little girl, hits a C8 and everything."

"A C8?" Ben asked.

"An off-the-piano note," Alec said. "Let's break a Guinness in this piece."

Dean went to the fridge and pulled out a beer. Bobby, at the stove, adding oil to a pan, narrowed his eyes at Dean. "Starting that up a little early, ain't ya?"

"Hey, zombie brothers in the other room warrant early drinks," Dean said. He took a long pull of his beer and came to join the twins at the table. Sam sighed, making his way to Alec's side, and resting a hand on the back of his brother's hot neck.

"You all right?" Sam asked.

"Now you care?" Alec said, voice muffled. "Thought you wanted to hit me."

"No, just wanted you to shut up," Sam said.

A cry from the study made them all jump, and Alec laugh. "Not quite a girl, but still a scream."

"And not a C8?" Ben asked.

"Nah."

"Then you owe us all ten dollars," Ben said.

"We didn't shake on it," Alec said quickly.

"Yeah but if he had hit that note, you'd insist that we pay you, shake or no shake," Dean said with a snort.

Alec shrugged, head still down. "Don't hate the player, hate the game."

Dean brought his beer to the table. "Hey, Bobby? You making enough breakfast for me too?"

"What do I look like, your maid?" Bobby snapped. "I got enough eggs here for that other brother of yours, and this one." He nodded at Alec.

Alec groaned. "No thanks. The milk was enough."

"It wasn't," Bobby said. "You know what Theresa said. You gotta eat."

"Just toast then," Alec moaned, "and I'll try not to throw up."

"Raise your head," Sam said, touching Alec's forehead and cheek when he complied. "Did you give him anything last night, Dean?"

"Yeah," Dean said. "It was around four, though. He can get another dose of ibuprofen, along with some toast and some Sprite."

Alec put his head back down and Sam sighed.

"May I have Alec's eggs?" Ben asked.

"Hey, what if I want 'em?" Dean broke in. "You probably already ate!"

Ben stared at Dean, then at Bobby.

"Sure Ben, you can have eggs—after you tell Dean where you're thinking about going soon," Bobby said, using a spatula to scoops steaming eggs onto a serving plate.

Dean frowned. "Where you thinking of going?"

Ben shrugged. "With my unit."

Alec raised his head again, eyes glinting. "What?"

"It's time," Ben said. "You knew I wasn't going to stay here forever, Alec. You're better now."

"I'm better?" Alec sounded incredulous. " _This_ is better to you?"

"You've got a doctor; Sam, Dean and Bobby know—"

"You've been wanting to dump me off since you got here, haven't you?"

Ben rolled his eyes. "You know that's not true. I needed to know you were okay, and you're going to be fine. I need to get back and help my unit build something like this now. They've got a base and they're hunting, but…"

"Yer' all just a buncha kids playing house," Bobby said. "I told 'im they need to move on down here. Set up a base in these parts."

"That'd be better," Sam chimed in. "It'd be a win-win. You'd stay close to us, you'd have your unit, and your unit would have back-up and access to…" Sam wanted to say 'normal people', but not only was he very sure he, Dean, and Bobby weren't normal, he didn't want to insult Ben or Alec by hinting that they weren't.

"And I didn't refute the idea," Ben said. "We were interrupted, if you recall."

Dean opened his mouth, but closed it as Adam walked in, looking dazed. He blinked at them and Sam came to his side, leading him to an empty chair between Alec and Ben. "Bobby made you some eggs. Let me get you some."

Adam kept his eyes on his hands, and Sam tried to put himself in Adam's shoes. He knew Adam had to be feeling stares from Dean, Alec and Ben on him. A brand-new family he never knew in his face; the only family he ever knew in the ground—Dad included.

"Hold up on, boy," Bobby snapped. "We're still waiting on the toast. Get Alec and Ben plates too."

"What about my plate?" Dean asked.

"Come and get it. What, you think this is Denny's?"

"How come you treat Alec and Ben better than me?"

"'Cause last I checked, Ben was doing chores around here and Alec did my taxes, got me a refund and everything." Bobby put eggs on the plates Sam brought over and gestured toward the toaster. Sam nodded, grabbing a paper towel and going to the four-slot toaster to get the hot bread.

Dean rolled his eyes. "Hey, I cleaned your guns, changed oil on some of those beaters you got out there—"

"Yeah and you oughta. Grown man's gotta pull his weight," Bobby said. "Alec and Ben are kids."

"Kids that bring in profits," Alec said, his glum expression lightening. He smiled. "Our stocks are up, by the way."

Bobby grinned at Alec, then scowled at Dean. "This kid's steady building me a fortune."

Sam popped toast on the three plates and picked them up like a waiter, bringing them to the table. Two plates of eggs and toast, one for Ben, one for Adam, and a single plate of toast for Alec. He ruffled Alec's hair, grinning at how easily Alec had re-opened all his old money-making accounts and even branched out. It wasn't just eBay, now it was Amazon, Craig's List, and a website offering freelance computer programming services. The bank account Bobby had opened for him, and let him link to several accounts to, was swollen with cash.

Adam raised his eyes, gazing at Alec. "You have stocks?"

"Yeah," Alec said. "Well, Bobby gave me access to his stuff, so really, he has stocks, but I'm the boss behind the scenes."

"Kid's always been good with money," Dean said. "When he was little, he had a wallet full of cash. I had to borrow from him a few times."

"Me too," Sam said. He sat next to Dean at the table.

"What about you?" Adam turned to Ben.

Ben ate his eggs at a leisurely pace. "I've never had any money."

"Why not?" Adam asked. He picked up a fork, but played with it instead of eating.

"I never needed any," Ben said.

Sam sighed. Ben never picked up on social cues, especially ones that clearly said: elaborate. "Ben didn't grow up with us," Sam said. "He, um…."

"Grew up as a super soldier in a top-secret facility run by demons," Alec said. "I met him five years ago, yanno, when the demons from that place kidnapped me. We just got back here a couple months ago, and Ben already wants to turn his back on us—"

"I am not turning my back!" Ben snapped, glaring at Alec.

"That's what leaving is," Alec said.

"We were just talking about us making a base nearby—"

"But when will that be, two years from now, five?" Alec demanded. "How long will it before I see you again?"

"Hey, hey," Dean cut in, looking between the twins. "We'll talk about this later. I mean, Ben, you ain't planning on packing your bags tonight, are ya?"

Ben shook his head.

"All right then," Dean said. He tapped Alec's plate. "Eat your toast."

Alec scowled for a minute, then rolled his eyes and started in on the toast, nibbling at the edges.

Bobby sat at the table with a mug of coffee and plate of eggs that he passed to Dean. Dean beamed at him. "I knew you loved me."

"Shaddap, boy," Bobby said.

* * *

 _Sioux Fall, North Dakota, 2010_

"You're getting better."

Adam glanced over at Ben, skin crawling at the cool way the teenager addressed him. Ben's tone stayed clinical unless he was arguing with Alec; his twin seemed to drag out what humanity he had. The kid had animal DNA mixed in with Winchester, Alec too.

Ben took the gun from Adam, inspecting it with a nod, and looking at the wooden targets nailed to the big tree acres away from Bobby's house. He raised the gun like an expert sniper and fired, nailing the target dead in its center. He fired again, striking the same spot.

"Show off," Adam grumbled.

"Professional," Ben countered. "I always hit my mark."

"Because of your super soldier training?" Adam asked.

"And enhanced vision and coordination," said matter-of-factly. Ben looked like he was talking about crossing an item off a grocery list. "It helps when you already have advantages."

"Does Alec shoot as good as you?"

Ben nods. "He's better actually, he received more specialized sniper training. He was used for infiltration and assassinations. I'm a combat soldier."

"Like… Afghanistan kinda stuff?" Adam asked. Ben was like one of those kids Adam saw commercials about on TV, the little ones with assault rifles strapped to their backs. "H-how young were you when you first started doing that?"

Ben shrugged. "Hard to know exactly, maybe five or six. No human really wants to shoot little kids unprovoked. It was a good way to test for demonic or angelic presence and to eliminate human targets."

"So, if they shot at you, they were demons…"

"Or angels," Ben said. "Humans usually hesitate."

Adam felt sick. What the hell had he done to deserve having to deal with all of this? Yeah, he was getting the truth of the world, but other people lived their whole happy, ignorant lives without it. He'd lived it…until he was eaten. But if he had known the truth then, maybe he could have saved his mom.

He was pretty sure he hated John Winchester. He hated the man for being a once-a-year father, for not preparing him, for leaving him and his mom open. Because those monsters had wanted revenge on John. They'd wanted to lure John back to Adam's hometown. They hadn't cared about Adam and his mom. And John hadn't come, John was already dead. But Sam and Dean had come. They'd met a ghoul that they had thought was him and tried to help him, train him. They'd even said they'd have come for Adam if they had known about him before then.

Looking between Dean and Sam, Adam wasn't sure if he quite believed them. Looking at Bobby, Adam wavered. The man was gruff, but seemed honest. Strangely, it had been the mutant little brothers that had softened him a bit. He'd always wanted little brothers to push around, not that he thought he could push super-powered soldiers all that far.

But watching them, the Winchesters and Bobby, interact, like a family—even Ben, made something deep inside Adam ache. He'd never felt like he had missed on anything major in his former life. He was sad not to have a dad, but he dealt with it; he wouldn't have minded having siblings, but he hadn't had them and that was fine. But now? He….

"Are you all right?" Ben asked.

"Y-yeah."

He…might want to be a part of this. If he couldn't have Mom, maybe… He squeezed his eyes shut. These people—his brothers—were orphans too. All of their parents were murdered by the supernatural. They were fighting bad things and taking care of each other, not giving up even with the world ending around them.

"Let me see the gun again," Adam said. Ben frowned then passed Adam the gun, correcting his stance and standing clear. Adam aimed and fired, the bullet almost hitting the inner ring.

"Good," Ben said.

Adam swallowed and lowered the gun. He felt eyes on him before he turned to meet Ben's intense green gaze. "They're right that you should get to know them. They're good people," Ben said.

Adam narrowed his eyes. "Them? You don't consider yourself part of the family?"

Ben shrugged. "It's… difficult. I've been here a short time, and they want me here. Everyone makes an effort to get to know me and include me. I'm not…. I have a family—another family. Other people like me, transgenics, that I grew up with. We know each other inside and out, we're loyal, I miss them, but…"

"But?" Adam couldn't read the look on Ben's face.

"It doesn't feel like this," Ben said. "I don't know how to describe it, because I've never…" He sighed. "There are these shows I've seen on television here, where characters talk about places feeling like home, and how those feelings don't always have to be assigned to just a physical place either. I've never had a real home, before now. In this place, I feel it, I think. If home ever had a feeling for me, it'd be this. And I think…I think if Alec, Sam, Dean and Bobby were to move elsewhere and I went with them, that place would feel like home because they were there."

"But you want to leave?" Adam asked.

"My unit needs me," Ben said. "If any of them get hurt when I should have been there watching their back, being the extra gunner…."

"Have you told them how you feel when you're here?"

"That's irrelevant information for them," Ben said. "I have a mission."

"But you're not in that military place anymore," Adam said. "Shouldn't the missions be over?"

"Not in this world," Ben said simply. "There are demons and angels. My kind was created by demons to be soldiers and vessels. Not just my unit escaped. There are transgenics loose everywhere now. They keep popping up in the news, some are associated with demon problem's we've been tracking. Demons may be hunting us down, may be watching my unit, ready to snatch us back and bring us back to another place like Manticore."

"You think there're more places like that one, with super kids?" Adam asked.

Ben was quiet, then shook his head. "No, not with more of us. Just maybe a new base and they're gathering us up. Who knows. The activity has been strange. Makes me uneasy."

"And you don't think your super powered unit can do without you? Are you the leader or like the best fighter or something?" Adam asked. He didn't know. Maybe Ben was the star.

Ben shook his head again. "Neither, I'm just a part of a whole. We've had to work in smaller groups before."

"So, they can handle themselves for a while, long enough for you to…" Adam shrugged and gestured around, "I guess, stay even longer."

Ben sighed. "I don't want Alec to become dependent on my being here all the time."

"He's got Dean and Sam."

"So, if he doesn't need me…."

"It's not about him needing you," Adam said, then checked himself. Who the hell was he to give this kid he just met advice? But, technically, this kid he just met was his brother—his little brother. "How old are you again?"

"Fourteen, but Alec and I will be fifteen soon."

Fourteen.

If Ben was a normal kid he'd be just starting high school at the bottom of the food chain. What had Adam been like at fourteen. Stupid, yeah, obnoxious, sure, and plenty in need of guidance. Ben wasn't the first two, but he could be the third. After living in that hellhole Manticore, what did Ben know about actual life? He knew about the dark side of human nature, knew about the freaky shit regular people thought was make-believe, but other stuff? Adam doubted Ben had ever had a girlfriend, or even a crush, before. Ben probably knew nothing about school dances, or trying out for sports or being picked for teams in P.E.

It was… really sad.

"If you think this family is worth me sticking it out and getting to know them instead of pursuing Zachariah, then I think it's worth it for you to stick around too," Adam said. "I have to learn Dean and Sam, Bobby and Alec. I should learn you too."

"I'm not like them," Ben said. "They know how to…" He looked frustrated. "They're…"

Adam didn't like watching Ben struggle for words. The boy looked backed into a corner. "Hey, I don't want to upset you."

"No," Ben said. "It's fine. You… make a point."

Adam opened his mouth to ask what, but Ben gestured for the gun. Adam watched him set the safety, still wanting to say something else. What could he say though?

"I don't think I'll ever be able to be as casual as they are," Ben said. "It's not in me, but I watch them and want to be a part of it anyway. Being here is nice, but I've never had nice. And sometimes I think that this can't be real. I want to leave before the dream's ruined."

Oh. Ben was much deeper than Adam thought, and he'd spoken a lot more than Adam thought he could. He doubted Ben had said any of these things to his brothers or Bobby. Why him?

"Because you're on the outside too," Ben said, staring at him hard.

Adam jumped. "Did I say that out loud?"

"No," Ben said, "the look on your face did."

Adam felt a sudden urge to shove Ben, like he would one of friends, but he didn't know how Ben would take it. "So here it is, I want to see my mom, but the only person promising me that is somebody who might be lying. Those guys in the house want to take me in, teach me to fight, make me family, but they can't even offer me the chance to see my mom. I mean, I might not see her no matter what I choose." A lump swelled in his threat and his eyes watered. "But if there's a chance…" he trailed off.

"Are you willing to throw everything away for that chance?" Ben asked.

"My mom would for me," Adam said, very sure of this. If he could bring her back, then he wouldn't need a new family, but would he still want one?

"And let's just say Zachariah is honest and he brings your mom back, what then?" Ben asks. "Your body will be possessed by Michael. You won't really see your mom."

"After Michael wins, he'll give me body back."

Ben stared at him, eyes pitying.

Adam's skin crawled from the expression. "What?"

"No one's told you what happens to the vessels of arch angels and greater demons, have they?"

"Wh-what happens to them?" Adam tasted his fear, it was sharp as a fresh cut lemon. Zachariah hadn't mentioned more than Adam getting his mom back.

"Even with a vessel suited for them arch angels and greater demons are so strong. They burn so bright. Human bodies are empty shells after occupation," Ben said. "And you wouldn't be giving your body up to any arch angel, it would be Michael. There wouldn't be anything of you left to even acknowledge your mother."

Adam felt his body shaking. "What?"

"If Zachariah did honor his word and brought back your mother, you wouldn't be aware enough to recognize her," Ben said. "Funny how he chose to leave that part out."

Adam didn't detect any sarcasm in Ben's voice or any condescension in his eyes. He was stating facts as he saw them. "Oh my God," Adam muttered.

"I don't think God has much to do with anything anymore," Ben said.

Adam sat down in the grass, burying his face in his hands.

"Do you want me to get Dean?" Ben asked, his voice sounding a little anxious.

Get Dean? "Why would you think I'd want Dean?"

A pause, then, "Everyone else always does."

"Just leave me alone."

Adam heard no sound, and peeked through his fingers to see if Ben was gone. He saw no jean-covered legs or sneakers. He removed his hands to find himself alone in the woods. He sat there for a while, staring off into space, before sleepiness settled in. He relocated, moving to a tree that hadn't been part of target practice and settling down under it. His eyes closed on their own as he drifted off.

* * *

 _Sioux Fall, North Dakota, 2010_

"What do you mean he's gone?" Dean asked.

"We looked for him everywhere," Sam said. "Searched the woods, all over the junkyard, the house. Bobby and Ben rode through town asking around. I mean, he could be hiding out, but he's hiding from _us_."

"He's nowhere near the house," Alec said from his prone position on the couch. Dean raised a brow at his brother's haphazard sprawl. "Ben and I would smell him."

Ben sat on the arm of Alec's couch, frowning. "I'm sorry I shouldn't have left him alone this afternoon, but he asked."  
"It's not your fault," Dean said. "He's a grown man. If he wants to leave, he can go, but…" Dammit. There was only one place he'd go, and Dean had really thought the kid was gonna give them a chance.

"You think he went off to find Zachariah?" Alec asked.

"Of course he did."

"Adam doesn't know how to contact angels, though," Ben said. "And Zachariah can't track him with the markings on his ribs."

Sam sighed, rubbing his hand over his face. Dean hated the lines around Sam's eyes. His little brother was tired and stressed after spending all day looking for Adam. When Sam spoke again, his voice was gravelly. "If an angel really wants to find you, they'll figure out a work around. Zachariah raised Adam from the dead. I bet he's got some way of contacting him that doesn't have anything to do with tracking his location."

"And once he contacts Adam, all Adam would have to do is tell Zachariah where he is," Dean said. His brothers stared at him.

Bobby came into the room, shaking his head. "None of my contacts have seen anybody that looked like Adam and ain't heard nothing neither. The kid's off our grid." Bobby's gaze scanned the room, seeming to note that everyone else was looking at Dean.

Dean groaned when Bobby's eyes ended up on him too. Why were they looking to him? What else could he do?

Then an idea struck him and he pulled out his cell. "I'm calling Cass."

* * *

Author's Note: What'd you think? Like it? Hate it? Don't care about it either way? Any way you liked it, let me know. Please review :D.


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